At 11 a.m., Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjabi counterpart, Bhagwant Mann, were supposed to lead a protest outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters. However, Kejriwal declined the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) fifth summons related to a money laundering case tied to alleged irregularities in the now-abandoned excise policy of 2021–22.
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Despite leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gathering for the demonstration, Kejriwal refused to comply with the summons, citing it as the fifth one and asserting its unlawfulness. The protest, scheduled for 11 a.m., aimed to prevent what the AAP claimed as the “theft of votes” and resisted any attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dismiss Kejriwal’s government or arrest him.
In a statement, the AAP stated that Kejriwal would adhere to legally valid summonses but rejected the current one. The protest against BJP’s irregularities in the recent Chandigarh mayoral election was announced by the AAP after learning about the new summons for Kejriwal.
The recent mayoral election faced allegations of vote tampering, leading to the annulment of the fourth round of voting and the BJP securing victory on Tuesday. Kejriwal blamed electoral malpractice for the defeat and accused the BJP of “rigging the ballot,” emphasizing the dangerous precedent set for the nation.
In response to the summons, Kejriwal claimed that AAP lawmakers and volunteers were being detained by the police en route to the protest site. Cabinet colleague Atishi expressed concerns about barricades being erected across Delhi and AAP volunteers being detained by buses, questioning why the BJP was afraid of a protest in the Chandigarh mayoral elections.
A BJP leader, Harish Khurana, anticipated Kejriwal’s refusal to comply with the summons and questioned why the Chief Minister of Delhi doesn’t appear in court if the summons is deemed invalid. He mentioned the case of Hemant Soren, who faced summons multiple times before showing up in front of the ED and was arrested when unable to answer their questions. Khurana warned Kejriwal against complaining about political vendettas if the ED prosecutes him harshly, emphasizing the need for Kejriwal to respond to the ED’s inquiries.
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According to the AAP, last-minute changes made by Saxena’s predecessor disrupted the excise policy plan, leading to lower-than-expected revenue. The ED, on the other hand, alleged that the AAP received Rs 100 crore in bribes to finalize the policy, with a portion of that money used for the party’s campaign in the Goa elections. Prominent AAP figures, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, have been detained by the ED in connection to the case.