Delhi Liquor Policy Case: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will today appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi liquor policy 'scam' case. This comes after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) previously questioned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor in April this year. The party has expressed "apprehensions" that Kejriwal may be arrested in a similar way former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and AAP MP Sanjay Singh were arrested by the agencies in the case.


Earlier, both CBI and ED had told the Supreme Court that they are mulling over making AAP an accused in the excise policy matter. Here are ten points on the developments in the case.


 



  1. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Monday given a summon by the ED for questioning in the Delhi Liquor policy case on Nov 2. In response to this, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said, "As per the news that the Central Government's ED has sent summon to Delhi CM, it gets clear that the Centre has only one aim to somehow finish AAP. They are not leaving a stone unturned in framing a false case to put CM Arvind Kejriwal in jail and to finish AAP." Similarly, Delhi Minister Atishi stated that "the BJP is scared of AAP and the work being done in Punjab and Delhi by the government. They are scared of free electricity, good schools, and Mohalla clinics. Therefore, they are trying to frame AAP leaders in false cases and send them to jail."

  2. Delhi BJP Chief Virendra Sachdeva sought CM Kejriwal's resignation, asserting, "When the Liquor scam came to the fore, we were saying since the beginning that CM Arvind Kejriwal is the kingpin in the scam. When SC denied the bail plea of Manish Sisodia and established that Rs 338 crore money trail. "Arvind Kejriwal has to tell where they have spent Rs 338 crore...Arvind Kejriwal and his entire team, who call themselves honest, their faces have been unveiled," he told ANI.

  3. Delhi minister Atishi on Tuesday said there are "apprehensions" that CM Arvind Kejriwal will be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on November 2. "We are getting information that when Arvind Kejriwal appears before ED on November 2, ED will arrest and put him in jail," Atishi said in during a press conference. She also targeted the BJP-led Centre and PM Narendra Modi, the AAP leader said they want to finish the Aam Aadmi Party and "this is the reason why AAP leaders are being arrested and put in jail one after the other in false cases." 

  4. Stating what the party would do if Kejriwal is arrested on Thursday, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said, "It would be decided by the senior leaders of the party. But if the whole party is in jail, then the government and the party would run from jail. And this is what the BJP wants everyone should be in jail... They want free education, free electricity, free water, free pilgrimage, hospitals, and mohalla clinics to stop but Arvind Kejriwal will not let this happen..."

  5. On Wednesday, a day ahead of CM Kejriwal's appearance before the ED, AAP MP Raghav Chadha claimed that since the BJP government came into power in 2014, 95 per cent of cases registered by the investigative agencies have been against opposition leaders. Addressing a press conference, Chadha said, "From 2014 to 2022, ED and CBI had filed 125 cases against big leaders, of which 118 were filed against BJP's political opponents."  He further claimed, "Now after the formation of the INDIA alliance, the BJP is rattled. We have learnt from sources that they have hatched a plan to target top leaders from the INDIA alliance. The first arrest in this plan will be of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal."

  6. Chaddha alleged, "After Kejriwal, they will arrest Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and then Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. After these leaders, they will target Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and then top leaders of the Shiv Sena and the NCP in Maharashtra."

  7. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led central government, and accused the ruling party of “conspiring” to arrest all the Opposition leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year, news agency PTI reported. "Before next year's elections, they (BJP) are trying to gag the voice of all opposition parties. They are planning to arrest all opposition leaders before the polls so that they can vote for themselves in an empty country. They are hatching a conspiracy," news agency PTI quoted CM Banerjee as saying.

  8. This came after the Supreme Court, on the same day, denied bail to former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the liquor policy matter. The Bharatiya Janata Party slammed AAP after the dismissal of Sisodia's bail in connection with cases pertaining to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped liquor policy case. BJP leader Manoj Tiwari said that the top leaders of the AAP, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, will also be arrested soon. "The Supreme Court has rejected Manish Sisodia's bail plea. It is evident that the entire Aam Aadmi Party gang is involved in corruption and their money trail has been established. I am certain that top leaders of AAP will be arrested soon. Arvind Kejriwal will also be arrested," Tiwari said, as quoted by the news agency PTI.

  9. The court raised probing questions to the prosecution regarding the 'money trail' related to Manish Sisodia. The bench recorded statements from the probe agencies, indicating that the trial in these cases was expected to conclude in six to eight months. The court also clarified that if the trial proceeded in a lackadaisical manner, Sisodia would have the liberty to apply for bail in these cases in three months, PTI reported.

  10. AAP leader Atishi said the party respects the court's ruling and expressed disagreement with its order. She announced that the AAP intends to file a review petition against the apex court's decision. Addressing the media after the order, Atishi highlighted that the court had delivered an adverse verdict despite making sharp observations about the conduct of the investigating agencies.