Arvind Kejriwal Summoned By Probe Agency On Thursday In Liquor Policy Case

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned for questioning in the alleged liquor scam by the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the money laundering angle. He has been asked to present himself at the Delhi office of the Central agency on November 2.

In April, the Central Bureau of Investigation had summoned Mr Kejriwal for questioning on the same issue, though he was not named as an accused in the First Information Report filed by the agency on August 17 last year.

"The Central government has only one objective -- to destroy the Aam Aadmi Party at any cost," said senior AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj. "For this, they are leaving no stone unturned, including creating a fake case. The idea is to send Arvind Kejriwal to jail and destroy the Aam Aadmi Party," he added.

Today's summons came hours after the Supreme Court rejected the bail plea of Mr Kejriwal's former Deputy Manish Sisodia, who is the prime accused in the case. A money trail of Rs 338 crore has been tentatively established in the case, said the judges, who earlier insisted that a chain of evidence must be established.

In a 41-page order, the court accepted the argument of the Central Bureau of Investigation that there is a "carefully hatched conspiracy" to ensure that a select few make windfall gains. The policy "facilitated getting bribes" from wholesale distributors who are "assured of exorbitant profits".

After the verdict, leaders of Delhi's BJP unit demanded that Mr Kejriwal resign. "The court order has presented sufficient reason for Chief Minister Kejriwal to resign from his post," said Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva.

The CBI contends that liquor companies were involved in framing the excise policy, which would have brought them a 12 per cent profit. A liquor lobby it dubbed the "South Group" had paid kickbacks, part of which was routed to public servants. The Enforcement Directorate alleged laundering of the kickbacks.

The BJP has alleged that the proceeds of the alleged scam were used by AAP to fund its large-scale campaign in Gujarat, in which it got a 12.91 per cent votes and established itself as a national party.