Delhi BJP Chief Claims Arvind Kejriwal Is "Running Away" From Probe Agency

The Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachedva launched an attack on the Aam Aadmi Party and the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the AAP claimed that the Enforcement Directorate was going to arrest Arvind Kejriwal.

Mr Sachedva dubbed the AAP as "Choro ki Baraat" (procession of thieves) who were making noise and mourning for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as he is running away from the investigation agency.

Speaking to ANI, the Delhi BJP chief said, "Since morning I have been watching the 'Choro ki Baraat' (procession of thieves) making noise and mourning for Kejriwal. When you did corruption what happened that time? You (Kejriwal) are running away from the investigation agency. You have been called three times by Enforcement Directorate but you did not go there. Now you are mourning that you can be arrested. Delhi Chief Minister it's your responsibility to follow the rules but you are not following that."

He further said that since Delhi Chief Minister claims to be an honest man, he should go with evidence to the Enforcement Directorate.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Udit Raj suggested Delhi Chief Minister go before the Enforcement Directorate and clarify his views on the allegations.

"Enforcement Directorate is being misused. The allegations made were not found in the investigation. Kejriwal should go before the Enforcement Directorate and clarify his views on the allegations. Then only his image will survive. Rahul and Sonia Gandhi also went," Mr Raj said.

Amidst claims made by the AAP about the Enforcement Directorate arresting Arvind Kejriwal security around the Delhi Chief Minister's house has been further heightened. However, the AAP has not backed down from its claims. AAP leader Jasmine Shah today said, "It is clear that they (BJP) want to finish Aam Aadmi Party and arrest Arvind Kejriwal before Lok Sabha elections...He is ready to cooperate with the legal process. Till now, all summons served to him are illegal. From credible sources, we have got to know that a raid will be conducted and Arvind Kejriwal will be arrested."

Earlier, taking to the social media platform X, AAP leader and Delhi's Law and PWD Minister, Atishi on Wednesday, said, "News coming in that Enforcement Directorate is going to raid@ArvindKejriwal's residence tomorrow morning. Arrest likely."

Minutes after Atishi's post, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also posted on X, claiming speculations about Mr Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.

"It is heard that tomorrow morning, Enforcement Directorate is going to reach the house of Chief Minister Kejriwal and arrest him," Mr Bharadwaj said in his post.

Delhi Chief Minister skipped the third summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday. The Enforcement Directorate issued a third summons to Chief Minister Kejriwal on December 22 last year, in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor scam case, asking him to appear before the agency on January 3.

Mr Kejriwal, in his reply to the Enforcement Directorate, expressed his readiness to cooperate with the investigation but declined to appear on the summoned date, calling the notice "illegal." Mr Kejriwal further questioned the agency for not responding to his earlier replies when the summons was sent to him and he had raised certain queries on the nature of the agency's investigation.

In his written reply to the Enforcement Directorate, the Delhi Chief Minister said "As a premier investigating agency the non-disclosure and non-response approach adopted by you cannot sustain the test of law, equity or justice. Your obstinacy is tantamount 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."

"In these circumstances, I urge you to respond to my earlier response 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" he added in his response.

The Delhi Chief Minister was first called by the central agency to appear on November 2, but he did not depose, alleging that the notice was "vague, motivated, and unsustainable in law." He further alleged that the said summons appeared to be politically motivated and issued for extraneous considerations.

Meanwhile, the AAP also questioned the timing of the notice just before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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