Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is behind the ‘illegal’ Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons to prevent him from election campaigning ahead of upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal on Wednesday skipped the third summons by the ED in connection with the Delhi excise policy case and cited Rajya Sabha polls, Republic Day preparations and the probe agency’s “non-disclosure and non-response approach” as reasons for not appearing before it.
Kejriwal said, “The truth is that there was no corruption. BJP wants to arrest me. My biggest asset is my honesty & they want to dent it. My lawyers have told me that summons sent to me are illegal. BJP’s aim is not to probe me, but not to let me campaign for Lok Sabha elections. They want to call me on the pretext of investigation and then arrest me.”
In a letter addressed to the Enforcement Directorate, the AAP leader also said that he would be “happy to answer” any questionnaire sent by it. Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed that the summonses were sent with the intention to arrest him. “I had appeared before the CBI eight months back and had answered all questions. But this (ED) summon is illegal and hence I will not depose,” he added.
“My every bit is dedicated to the nation. They want to break my honestly… which will never happen,” Kejriwal said and added, “All the charges will disappear if people from AAP will join the BJP.”