Arvind Kejriwal govt calls special session of Delhi Assembly Friday

A special session of the Delhi Assembly will be held Friday amid a political slugfest over action by central probe agencies in the Kejriwal government's excise policy and the AAP accusing the BJP of trying to lure its MLAs.

The Assembly session is scheduled to be held from 11 am on August 26, according to a document issued by the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP's attempt to "topple" his government was a "serious issue". The matter was in the AAP's political Affairs Committee on Wednesday evening.

In a meeting of the committee held at Kejriwal's residence, the panel condemned the BJP's alleged efforts to lure its MLAs.

The AAP leaders have alleged that four MLAs were offered money by the BJP to quit the party.

The ED has registered a money laundering case against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others to probe the alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise policy after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR that has named Sisodia and 14 others.

The CBI had conducted raids in the 2021-22 excise policy case on August 19 and had covered the residence of Sisodia in Delhi, that of IAS officer and former Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna and 19 other locations across seven states and Union Territories. Sisodia holds multiple portfolios in the Delhi government including that of excise and education.

The ED will probe if there were alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy unveiled in November last year.