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New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday asserted he “won’t bow down to hooliganism and dictatorship” of the BJP even as the saffron party claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo was “behaving like a fugitive” by skipping summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the third time.
“One by one, the scams done by Kejriwal and his party are coming to light. Today, he is not ready to appear before ED and is behaving like a fugitive,” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla told news agency ANI.
“If there is nothing to hide, why is he not appearing before, even after the 3rd summons?,” the BJP leader asked.
Kejriwal on Wednesday skipped the third summons issued to him by the ED in connection with the purported Delhi liquor scam case. The summons, issued on December 22 last year, had asked Kejriwal appear before the agency on January 3.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal said that he would not bow down to the hooliganism and dictatorship of the BJP. Accusing the ED of sending “false summons” to him, the AAP chief said that he has explained to the central agency why their summons is illegal adding that his biggest strength and asset is his “honesty.”
“In the last two years, all the agencies of BJP have conducted many raids but not a single penny was found. If there is corruption then where is the money? AAP leaders are kept in jail in such fake cases. Now BJP wants to arrest me. My biggest strength and asset is my honesty,” Kejriwal said while addressing a press conference on Thursday.
Questioning the timing of the notice just before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Delhi CM said that the Bharatiya Janata Party wants to stop him from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections.
“My lawyers told me that the summons was illegal. I wrote the question and sent it to ED. Should I obey an unlawful summons? If a legal summons comes, I will comply with it. Why am I being called just before the Lok Sabha elections? Eight months ago, I was called by CBI. I went and gave all the answers.
Today they want to stop me from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections,” he added.
The AAP chief further said that he has always fought for the country and till his last, he will fight for the country.”
“Today, opposition leaders are being included in the BJP through ED. Whoever joins his party, all his matters get resolved. Today honest leaders like Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Vijay Nair have been put in jail. I have always fought for the country. Every breath of mine is for the country. We have to save the country together. I am fighting against them with all my heart, I need your support,” he said.
AAP leader Jasmine Shah in a scathing attack against the BJP said the saffron brigade’s only aim to “finish” AAP and “arrest” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Coming down heavily at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Jasmine Shah alleged that the only target of the BJP is to “finish” AAP and “arrest” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Shah claimed that all the summons served to the Delhi CM by the investigating agency were illegal.”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,” Shah said.
Arvind Kejriwal also received support from Samajwadi Party Chief and INDIA bloc ally Akhilesh Yadav. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister shrugged off the ED summons as “nothing new” and claimed that the BJP dispensation was probing all opposition leaders.
“This is nothing new; the government is doing a probe against all opposition leaders, putting pressure on them and insulting them. The whole nation knows that agencies are being misused.” The biggest scandal till now was demonetization. One by one, all opposition leaders are being probed. This is nothing but a political agenda to distract people,” the SP chief said.
Former Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, TS Singh Deo backed the embattled AAP chief.
“Arvind Kejriwal has asked the ED for the basis of all the summons. Arvind Kejriwal never said he would not go. He has just asked in writing the basis for the summons,” Deo said.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur asked if the Delhi CM was above the law of the land. The BJP leader claimed that Kejriwal is “scared to appear before the ED”.
“One after another, scams keep coming out. The leaders of the AAP have been in jail for more than a year. Arvind Kejriwal has an equal role in all these scams. People are asking if Arvind Kejriwal is above the law today. Why is he so scared to appear before the ED?” Anurag Thakur asked.
On Wednesday, Kejriwal, in his reply to the ED, expressed his readiness to cooperate with the investigation but declined to appear on the summoned date, calling the notice “illegal.” 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 ED, the Delhi CM 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.
(With ANI inputs)
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