In his response to the Enforcement Directorate after he skipped its summons in connection with the liquor policy case for the third time, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has said he is busy with the Republic Day preparations and Rajya Sabha elections, and would be “happy to answer” any questionnaire sent by the agency. 

In a letter posted by the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday, Mr Kejriwal reiterated his objections that the summons is “motivated and issued for vexatious considerations” and said it is not clear whether he is being summoned as a witness or a suspect in the case. 

“The summons appear to be in the nature of fishing and roving enquiry as it does not specify whether I am being summoned as an individual or in my official capacity as Chief Minister of Delhi or as National Convenor of AAP,” he added.

The AAP has also raised similar objections to the summons while justifying why the chief minister did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate and claimed that the only aim was to arrest him. The BJP has, however, said Mr Kejriwal is “shaking in fear” and is not appearing before the agency because he knows that he is the “kingpin” of the alleged liquor policy scam.

‘Held Up’

Stating that the elections for three Rajya Sabha seats from Delhi will take place on January 19, Mr Kejriwal said, “Being National Convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party, I am held up in the process and run up to these critical elections.”

He also pointed out that, as the chief minister of Delhi, he was “also quite occupied in planning and preparations for several programmes and functions for the Republic Day”.

“In such circumstances, I hope that you shall act as per law by transparently and fairly considering my objections as raised and indicated in my earlier responses dated 02.11.2023 and 20.12.2023. In the meanwhile, I would be happy to respond to any questionnaire if you seek any information/documents, which are in my knowledge/possession,” the chief minister said.

Objections

The AAP chief had not appeared before the Enforcement Directorate when he was summoned on November 2 and December 21 as well, and two other senior leaders of the party are in judicial custody in connection with the case. Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested in February last year, and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was taken into custody in October.

Ever since the first summons was issued, there has been intense speculation that the Delhi chief minister would be arrested by the agency after his questioning. 

Mr Kejriwal claimed he knows of several cases where the agency had given a detailed explanation or response to queries by people issued summons under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, but it had not even acknowledged the receipt of the submissions made by him.

“As a premier investigating agency of the country, the ‘non-disclosure” and ‘non-response’ approach adopted by you cannot sustain the test of law, equity or justice. Your obstinacy tantamounts to assuming the role of judge, jury and executioner at the same time which is not acceptable in our country governed by the rule of law,” he said. 

“Vested Interests”

“In these circumstances, I therefore, once again, urge you to kindly respond to my earlier responses and clarify the position so as to enable me to understand the real intent, ambit, nature, sweep and scope of the purported inquiry/investigation for which I am being called,” the AAP chief added.

He also alleged that while he was willing to cooperate and assist with any investigation, the Enforcement Directorate’s silence confirmed his apprehensions about “certain vested interests and extraneous as well as malafide considerations prevailing over any objective, rational, fair or impartial inquiry or investigations”.

The Aam Aadmi Party has also questioned the timing of the summons and said that it had been sent with the intention of arresting him. 

“Why has the notice been sent right before elections? The notice is an attempt to stop Kejriwal from campaigning in the (Lok Sabha) elections,” the party said.

‘Lame Excuses’

Hitting out at Mr Kejriwal, the BJP called him the kingpin of the alleged scam. “Outright dishonest and sinister Arvind Kejriwal is shaking in fear and making one after another lame excuse to skip ED summons,” news agency PTI quoted BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia as saying. 

“It won’t be wrong to say that (Arvind) Kejriwal is afraid today because he knows that his arrest is imminent, he is aware that he is the kingpin and has no answers. That’s why he is trying to evade the process of law,” he added.

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Two explosions caused by ‘terrorist attacks’ killed more than 70 people and wounded scores at a ceremony in Iran to commemorate top commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a 2020 U.S. drone attack, Iranian officials said on Wednesday.

Iranian state television reported a first and then a second explosion during an anniversary event at the cemetery where Soleimani is buried in the southeastern city of Kerman.

“The blasts were caused by terrorist attacks,” state media quoted a local official in the Kerman province as saying. Babak Yektaparast, a spokesperson for Iran’s emergency services, was reported later as saying 73 people had been killed and 170 injured.

The semi-official Nournews had said earlier that “several gas canisters exploded on the road leading to the cemetery”.

State TV showed Red Crescent rescuers attending to wounded people at the ceremony, where hundreds of Iranians had gathered to mark the anniversary of Soleimani’s death. Some Iranian news agencies said the number of wounded people was much higher.

“Our rapid response teams are evacuating the injured… But there are waves of crowds blocking roads,” Reza Fallah, head of the Kerman province Red Crescent told state TV.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)