Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in the liquor policy case. Mr Kejriwal has been called in on Thursday. This is the second time the central agency has summoned the Aam Aadmi Party boss; the first was on November 2. Mr Kejriwal had skipped that summons, opting instead to campaign for his party in Madhya Pradesh.

The AAP leader then wrote to the ED to say he could not attend as he was busy campaigning for the election in Madhya Pradesh. Amid speculation he could be arrested on that day, Mr Kejriwal had also called the summons “illegal” and “politically motivated”, and demanded it be withdrawn.

READ | Arvind Kejriwal Skips Summons, Tells Probe Agency To “Take Back Notice”

“The summons does not specify whether I am being summoned as an individual, or in my capacity as Chief Minister of Delhi, or as the National Convener of AAP,” he wrote to the central agency.

Mr Kejriwal and his party slammed what they called “a fishing and roving inquiry”.

An individual can skip a summons thrice, after which the agency can secure a non-bailable warrant.

NDTV Explains | Probe Agency’s Options After Arvind Kejriwal Skips Summons

In April, the CBI questioned Mr Kejriwal – as a witness – for nine hours, after which he slammed the agency. “The CBI asked me 56 questions (but) everything is fake. I am convinced they don’t have anything on us… not a single piece of evidence,” he said after being quizzed at its Lodhi Road office.

READ | “CBI Asked 56 Questions…”: Arvind Kejriwal After 9-Hour Questioning

The fresh summons to Mr Kejriwal will also renew talk of his party being made an accused in this case, which would be an unprecedented first in Indian politics. The Supreme Court in October posed this question to the Enforcement Directorate – “why isn’t the political party still not made an accused?”

Sources had then told NDTV there is a money trail leading to the AAP and its election campaigns.

READ | “Want To Clarify…”: Supreme Court On “Making AAP An Accused” Question

The Delhi liquor case refers to allegations that the AAP government’s revamped alcohol sales policy of 2022 for the national capital allowed it to receive crores of rupees in kickbacks from cartels, and that this money was channelled into funding the party’s election expenses in Goa and other states.

Specifically, both the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation have alleged the policy allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers, who paid bribes for liquor sale licenses.

NDTV Explains | What Is Delhi Liquor Policy Case Linked To Arvind Kejriwal’s Party

The AAP has strongly refuted all charges. The Delhi government reported a 27 per cent increase in income from the policy and generated Rs 8,900 crore in revenue.

The policy was scrapped in July last year and the old policy was brought back.

Mr Kejriwal’s former deputy, Manish Sisodia, and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh have both been arrested in connection with this case. Mr Sisodia was arrested in February and Mr Singh in October.

Last month Mr Singh made a sensational claim, declaring, “A big conspiracy is being devised to frame Arvind Kejriwal.” He did not identify the conspirators but it was seen as a warning against the ruling BJP, which the opposition claims uses central agencies to target and harass rivals before elections.

NDTV Explains | Why Was AAP’s Sanjay Singh Raided, Arrested In Liquor Policy Case

The 2024 Lok Sabha election is around three months away, as are polls in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and, potentially, Jammu and Kashmir.

BJP veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi who were at the forefront of the agitation for the Ram temple in Ayodhya are unlikely to attend next month’s consecration ceremony due to their health and age, the temple trust said in Ayodhya on Monday.

“Both are elders of the family and considering their age, they were requested not to come, which was accepted by both,” Ram Temple Trust general secretary Champat Rai told reporters.

Mr Rai said preparations are in full swing for the consecration ceremony on January 22, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The preparations would be completed by January 15 and the puja for ‘praan pratistha’ will start from January 16 and will continue till 22nd January, he added.

Giving a detailed list of the invitees, Mr Rai said Mr Advani and Mr Joshi might not attend the consecration ceremony due to health and age-related reasons.

Mr Advani is now 96 and Mr Joshi will turn 90 next month.

A three-member team has been formed to visit former prime minister Deve Gowda and invite him to the ceremony, Rai said.

“Shankaracharyas of six darshanas (ancient schools) and around 150 saints and sages and will participate in the ceremony,” Mr Rai said.

He added that about 4,000 saints and 2,200 other guests have been invited for the ceremony.

Heads of major temples like Kashi Vishwanath, Vaishno Devi, and representatives of religious and constitutional institutions have also been invited, he said.

Spiritual leader Dalai Lama, Mata Amritanandamayi of Kerala, yoga guru Baba Ramdev, cine stars Rajnikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Arun Govil, film director Madhur Bhandarkar and prominent industrialists such as Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, famous painter Vasudev Kamat, ISRO Director Nilesh Desai and many other eminent personalities have been invited to the function, Rai said.

After the consecration ceremony, ‘mandal puja’ will be held from January 24 for 48 days as per ritual traditions. The temple will be opened for devotees on January 23, he added.

Mr Rai said that proper arrangements have been made for the guests to stay at more than three places in Ayodhya. Apart from this, 600 rooms have been made available by various monasteries, temples and household families.

Meanwhile, authorities of the Ayodhya Municipal Corporation said they have begun preparing for the consecration ceremony.

Speaking to PTI, Municipal Commissioner Vishal Singh said that fibre toilets will be installed for devotees and changing rooms will be set up for women at designated places.

The ‘Ram Katha Kunj’ corridor will be built in the Ram Janmabhoomi complex which would showcase tableaux displaying 108 events from Lord Ram’s life, he said.

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

At least 111 people were killed when an earthquake collapsed buildings in northwest China, state media reported Tuesday, as rescue workers raced to start digging through rubble.

About 100 were killed and scores more injured in Gansu province after the strong, shallow tremor struck, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing the provincial earthquake relief headquarters.

According to CCTV, 11 others were killed and 100 injured in the city of Haidong in the neighbouring province of Qinghai.

The quake caused significant damage, including collapsed houses, and sent people running into the street for safety, state news agency Xinhua said.

Rescue work was under way early Tuesday, with Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for “all-out efforts” in the search and relief work as well as ensuring the safety of the survivors and their property.

The quake, which was logged as magnitude 5.9 by the US Geological Survey, struck in Gansu near the border with Qinghai, where Haidong is located.

That epicentre is about 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of Gansu province’s capital, Lanzhou. Several smaller aftershocks followed the initial earthquake.

Xinhua reported the quake — which was felt in Xi’an in northern Shaanxi province, some 570 kilometres (350 miles) away — as magnitude 6.2.

– Freezing temperatures –

Power and water supplies were disrupted in some local villages, Xinhua said.

CCTV showed images of emergency vehicles driving towards the scene with their lights flashing along snow-lined highways.

Rescue workers dressed in overalls were pictured shoulder-to-shoulder in the trucks, while other images showed them lining up in ranks to receive instructions.

Other clips showed emergency personnel going through debris by torchlight, unfolding orange stretchers for the casualties.

Temperatures have plunged to well below freezing across northern China, and footage from one of the worst-hit areas on CCTV showed residents warming themselves by a fire while emergency services set up tents.

Fallen ceilings and other debris could be seen in videos posted on social media.

The earthquake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) at 11:59 pm local time Monday (1559 GMT), according to the USGS, which revised the magnitude downward after initially reporting 6.0.

Officials launched an emergency response and dispatched rescue personnel to the area just after the quake and provincial leaders were also en route, Xinhua reported.

Earthquakes are not uncommon in China. In August, a shallow 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck eastern China, injuring 23 people and collapsing dozens of buildings.

In September 2022, a 6.6-magnitude quake hit Sichuan province leaving almost 100 dead.

A 7.9-magnitude quake in 2008 left more than 87,000 people dead or missing, including 5,335 school pupils.

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