Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal may skip the fourth summons of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today (Thursday, January 18) for questioning in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case, according to the party. Are. Source.

Kejriwal, who had earlier skipped three summonses by the probe agency, is scheduled to leave for Goa today on a three-day visit to take stock of AAP’s preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Kejriwal’s Goa visit

Earlier, Kejriwal was scheduled to go on a two-day visit to Goa on January 11, but he had to postpone it due to preparations for the Republic Day event in the national capital.

According to AAP Goa chief Amit Palekar, Kejriwal, along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and MPs Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak, will now be in Goa from January 18 to January 20.

According to Palekar, during his visit ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, senior AAP leaders will meet party MLAs and other state officials and volunteers in the coastal state.

AAP has two MLAs in the Goa Assembly – Venzie Viegas (Benaulim) and Cruz Silva (Vellim).

ED’s fourth summons to Kejriwal

Kejriwal was summoned by the ED for the fourth time last week and asked to appear before the agency on January 18.

When asked about the ED summons to appear before him on Thursday, the AAP national convenor said, “We will do whatever needs to be done as per law.”

On Wednesday, Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj also expressed similar views.

“He is clear that whatever he does will be in accordance with the law and the advice of legal counsel,” he told the news agency. PTI.

The 55-year-old leader had refused to appear before the ED for the third time on January 3, citing Rajya Sabha elections and Republic Day preparations.

Kejriwal had also questioned the motive behind the ED’s action, citing legal “objections” to the summons and accusing the agency of playing the role of “judge, jury and executioner”.

Reacting to the ED summons, AAP leader and Delhi cabinet minister Gopal Rai had alleged that the BJP was “misusing” the ED to stop Kejriwal from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections.

The fourth ED summons on January 13 came a day after AAP announced Kejriwal’s three-day visit to Goa, following which Rai accused the central agency of exercising its power to stop the Delhi CM from campaigning.

Why did ED call Delhi Chief Minister?

The AAP convener has ignored the last three ED summons – November 2, December 22 and January 3 – calling them “illegal and politically motivated”.

However, according to sources, the agency believes that the summons sent to Kejriwal were “within PMLA procedures and law”.

The ED has said it wants to question the Delhi Chief Minister on the formulation of the policy, the meetings held before finalizing it and allegations of bribery.

Kejriwal’s name has been mentioned several times in the charge sheet filed by the ED in the case.

The agency has said that the accused were in touch with it regarding the preparation of the now defunct Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.

The ED had claimed in its charge sheet that AAP had used “proceeds of crime” worth about Rs 45 crore in its Goa election campaign.

The agency is expected to file a fresh supplementary charge sheet in the case and may name you as the “beneficiary” of the alleged bribes generated through the excise policy.

It has been alleged that the Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy for granting licenses to liquor traders allowed cartelization and favored some dealers who allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge refuted by AAP. Denied again and again.

The policy was later scrapped and Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In the past, the ED has also claimed that bribes generated in the excise policy were used to finance the campaign for the Goa Assembly elections.