Arvind Kejriwal skips 8th ED summons, says ready to appear virtually before agency after March 12

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who skipped the eighth Enforcement Directorate summons in connection with the excise policy case on Monday, has expressed readiness to appear before the agency through video-conferencing after March 12, government sources said.

Sources in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the agency is examining Kejriwal’s response.

The probe agency might not allow Kejriwal’s request for appearing virtually and might issue a ninth summons to him for questioning in the case, they said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the probe agency’s intention is to arrest party national convener Kejriwal in the ”middle of the Lok Sabha polls”.

The schedule for the polls expected to be held in April-May is yet to be announced by the Election Commission. Kejriwal has skipped the summonses of the ED, calling them illegal and asking the agency to wait as the matter was in court.

In his latest reply to the ED, the sources said, Kejriwal has stated that the summonses are ”illegal” but still he is ready to answer the questions of the probe agency.

Kejriwal also has to appear before a city court on March 16 as it has sought his personal appearance in a complaint filed by the ED over skipping of its summonses by him.

The AAP demanded that Kejriwal be questioned by the ED through video-conferencing and it be live telecast.

Hitting out at the chief minister, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said no further relaxation should be given to him.

”What kind of a message is he (Kejriwal) giving to the children of Delhi? I believe that no further relaxation should be given to him. Now, he should be dealt with strictly,” Tiwari told PTI Videos.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana alleged that Kejriwal has disrespected the law by skipping the ED’s summonses. ”He (Kejriwal) is now saying that he will appear before the ED virtually on March 12. He can do this even today if he wants to appear virtually,” Khurana said.

Delhi Health Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said several BJP ministers and spokespersons were claiming that Kejriwal is trying to avoid giving answers but the AAP kept saying that the matter is not about the questions but about his arrest.

”So, now the CM has found a middle path. He has said that as soon as the Budget session ends, he will give the answers to every question via video-conferencing,” Bharadwaj told PTI Videos.

Source: Press Trust of India