ED summons to Delhi Chief Minister politically motivated, says Gopal Rai  

The Aam Aadmi Party to take legal opinion on ED summons to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal after his 10-day Vipassana retreat, says Delhi Minister Gopal Rai. The AAP calls the summons "politically motivated".

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will take legal opinion on the fresh summons issued to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) only after he returns from his 10-day Vipassana retreat in Punjab, said senior party leader Gopal Rai on Saturday.

This is the third notice issued by the Central probe agency to Mr. Kejriwal in a money-laundering case lodged against him. He has been asked to appear before the agency for questioning on January 3. On earlier two occasions, Mr. Kejriwal did not appear before the agency for questioning.

Mr. Rai told reporters at a press conference that right now, there is no communication with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief. “AAP will take legal opinion and discuss the summons only after the Chief Minister returns,” he added, calling the move “politically motivated”.

Before going for his 10-day Vipassana retreat, the Chief Minister had written to the probe agency, saying that the issue was politically motivated and an attempt to silence the Opposition in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Also Read: Delhi excise case | Kejriwal skips ED summons

The case against Mr. Kejriwal is based on a first information report (FIR) alleging multiple irregularities in the formation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy. The policy was withdrawn after allegations of corruption.

He was earlier summoned by the CBI in the case. On April 16, Mr. Kejriwal appeared for CBI questioning that took over nine hours. Two senior AAP leaders — Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh — are already under judicial custody.