Exclusive: Arvind Kejriwal following Hemant Soren's footsteps on ED summons: Sources

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is learned to have taken a leaf out of his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren’s book and has decided to deal with the summons from the Enforcement Directorate in a similar fashion. 

Kejriwal on Thursday did not appear for questioning before the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy-linked money laundering case and the agency is now expected to issue fresh summons to him.

According to sources, Kejriwal has spoken to Soren following which he is making an identical legal point.

“Kejriwal is getting tips from Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, who has skipped five summons of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the land scam case, so far. The last time Soren was to appear on Oct 4,” a source told NewsDrum. 

Soren had earlier moved the Supreme Court challenging the summons but the apex court asked him to approach the Jharkhand High Court. 

He had filed the plea last week but the Jharkhand court is yet to take up the plea.

ED had sent the first summons to appear on August 14, the second summons on August 24, the third summons for September 9 and the fourth summons for September 23.

Earlier on Thursday, the investigating officer of the case received a two-page letter from Kejriwal, also the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party, where he has asked the agency to "recall" the said summons as they are "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law".

Kejriwal's letter to ED:

The central agency had summoned Kejriwal for questioning on Thursday in the alleged Delhi excise policy case and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA.

Kejriwal's party colleagues Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in this case.

The AAP had alleged that Kejriwal will be the first to be arrested as part of the BJP's plan to target top INDIA alliance leaders ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the ED summons were an attempt to finish the party that is in power in Delhi and Punjab.

It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by the AAP.

The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the PMLA.