AAP, BJP engage in war of words after Arvind Kejriwal skips ED summons

A war of words erupted between the BJP and the AAP on Thursday as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal skipped the Enforcement Directorate's summons in a case linked to the alleged excise policy scam saying it was "illegal and politically motivated".

The BJP flayed Kejriwal for "running away" from the ED summons and said he does not want to face the truth, while the AAP hit back saying that the summons was "politically motivated".

The BJP's Delhi unit also staged a protest at the Rajghat demanding Kejriwal's resignation over the alleged excise policy scam.

"Arvind Kejriwal ran away from the ED's summons. He does not want to face the truth.... It won't be an exaggeration to say that the Delhi liquor scam king has accepted that he was involved in liquor scam and corruption," BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra told a press conference here.

Patra asserted that the ED issues summons based on facts and evidence but Kejriwal is running away from facing the probe agency's questions because he knows the truth.

"Today it's proved that the one who is 'kattar' (outright) dishonest is 'kattar' shameless also, the BJP leader charged, adding, the ED doesn't send summons randomly. We firmly believe that ED or any other agency sending summons to Kejriwal was based on some grounds."

The Aam Aadmi Party alleged there was a "political conspiracy" behind the Enforcement Directorate's summons to Kejriwal and claimed that opposition leaders were being deliberately targeted.

Addressing a press conference, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "Today, the Delhi chief minister was asked to appear before the ED. He wrote to the ED, saying the summons does not make it clear in which capacity he is being called -- as a witness or as a suspect, in his capacity as an individual, chief minister or AAP national convener."

"How did BJP MP Manoj Tiwari in his interviews with a news agency say that Kejriwal will be arrested? This means that this is a political conspiracy. There are five states where elections are happening and being the national convener, Kejriwal has to go for campaigning," said Bharadwaj, a cabinet minister in the Delhi government.

Bharadwaj alleged that it was a "political conspiracy" by the BJP and claimed that they were targeting leaders from opposition parties.

The AAP's Delhi state convener Gopal Rai urged the BJP to stop the "misuse" of investigative agencies.

"Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sent a reply to the ED's summons. He demanded that it be recalled. But the ED's reply has not come. Instead, BJP spokespersons have started replying to Kejriwal's letter to ED. Today, it has become difficult to differentiate ED from BJP and vice versa," he alleged.

Rai alleged that BJP spokespersons were replying on behalf of the ED.

"The BJP dictates notice to ED. Yesterday, the BJP was saying this is a legal procedure. BJP wants to dictate which party should form an alliance with whom. They have conspired to arrest Kejriwal with political ill-will," he said.

Reiterating that there is a conspiracy to finish the AAP in Delhi, Rai accused the BJP of "misusing investigative agencies".

"There were raids at Cabinet Minister Raaj Kumar Anand's premises. What are you trying to do in the country? You have been given an opportunity to run this country. Agencies don't make you win elections but people do. Please stop doing this," he said.

Kejriwal did not appear before the ED for questioning in the case and wrote to the agency demanding withdrawal of the notice summoning him, claiming it was "illegal and politically motivated".

Calling the summons "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law", Kejriwal also claimed that the notice by the ED was sent to him for extraneous considerations at the behest of the BJP.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal travelled to Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli where he took part in a road show along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh will be held this month.

According to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), a person can ignore an ED summons three times and after that, the agency has the option of seeking a non-bailable warrant from a court.