Delhi Liquor Policy Case: The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday said that Delhi Chief Minister and party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal is set to skip fifth Enforcement Directorate summon issued against him in coonection to the alleged Delhi liquor policy case. The party has called the summon "unlawful" and said, "PM Modi's aim is to arrest Arvind Kejriwal and topple the Delhi Government. We will not allow this to happen".
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Friday slammed Kejriwal saying that if there is nothing to hide, then why is he not presenting himself before the ED and other agencies. He also took a dig at the I.N.D.I.A bloc saying that the only thing that binds the opposition bloc is commission and corruption, not a mission or vision.
Continuing his attack on the Delhi CM, Poonawalla said, "You say that these are all politically motivated, as if doing bhrashtachar is your shishtachar (doing corruption is your etiquette)," as quoted by news agency ANI.
On the Delhi CM skipping the ED summons, BJP leader Harish Khurana said that it is just a tactic to show himself helpless. "Once again Arvind Kejriwal has skipped ED summon. This is the fifth time that he has skipped ED summon. Arvind Kejriwal is calling it unlawful, so the question arises if the summon is illegal then why he hasn't gone to court and got it quashed. It is just a tactic to show himself helpless," Kejriwal said.
On Friday, security was stepped-up in Central Delhi with the deployment of additional personnel in view of demonstrations by the AAP and the BJP, police said, as reported by news agency PTI.
While the AAP is set to stage a protest outside the BJP headquarters over alleged cheating in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the saffron party has said its members will protest near the AAP head office against the "corruption" of the Arvind Kejriwal government, PTI reported.
Speaking on the matter, a senior police officer said that appropriate arrangements have been made. "Adequate security arrangements have been made in view of the protests. Additional personnel have been deployed. No one will be allowed to break the law," the officer said, as quoted by PTI.
Kejriwal accused that the elected MLAs, councillors and volunteers who were coming to party office were being detained. In a post on X, the Delhi CM said, "All across Del, they are detaining elected MLAs, councillors and volunteers who were coming to party office. What is this going on?".
Meanwhile, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the Delhi police is stopping public and workers.