'Mr Prime Minister You Can Trouble Us, But You Can't Stop...': Delhi CM To PM Modi Ahead Of CBI Appearance

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal mentioned PM Narendra Modi in his video address before his CBI appearance today. He also alleged that the CBI will arrest him if the BJP instructed it to do so.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday sent a video message to his supporters attacking the Bharatiya Janata party before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioning in connection with the formulation of the now-scraped excise policy. He said that the CBI will arrest him if "the BJP has asked it to".

"They (CBI) have called me today and I will definitely go. They are very powerful, they can send anyone to jail. If BJP has ordered CBI to arrest me, then CBI will obviously follow their instructions," CM Kejriwal remarked.

He spoke about his hunger strike during India Against Corruption movement recalling how he was advised by doctors against it as he is a diabetic person.

"You (BJP) say that I am corrupt. I was a Commissioner in the Income Tax department, I could have earned crores if I wanted to."

He also mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, "Mr. Prime Minister if Arvind Kejriwal is corrupt then there is no honest person in this world. Kejriwal lives for the country and will die for the country. If you have CBI summon me 100 times, I will still go. You can trouble us Indians but cannot stop India anymore. India will become the Number 1 country in the world."

The Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22, which grants licences to liquor traders, is said to have favoured certain dealers who allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly denied by the AAP. The policy was later abandoned.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann would accompany Kejriwal to the CBI office on Sunday morning, reported ANI.

The Delhi chief minister has been summoned as a witness but is not a defendant in the excise policy case in which his former deputy Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26. Sisodia was arrested last month by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and is currently in judicial custody. 

The CBI served Kejriwal with a summons to appear before it at 11 am on Sunday, and he stated that he will appear before the investigation agency. He also claimed that the agencies tortured people in order to extract false confessions.