Aam Admi Party leaders on Thursday claimed that the Enforcement Directorate is likely to arrest Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, in the Delhi excise case. He has refused to join the probe, despite three summons issued to him.
Kejriwal questioned the timing of the ED’s summons, which he said was meant to stop him from campaigning in the coming Lok Sabha elections. The CBI had called him eight months ago in the same case, and he had joined the probe and answered their questions. Why was the ED calling now? he wondered.
He reiterated his earlier charges, stating that the agencies are being used to intimidate the Opposition.
The police has increased its deployment around Kejriwal’s official residence to avoid any untoward incident, as AAP leaders expressed fear that the Delhi CM will be arrested on Thursday. There has been no official word from ED on it.
AAP spokesperson Jasmine Shah said he has learnt from “reliable sources” about an impending raid at Kejriwal’s house to arrest him. He said former Deputy CM Manish Sisodiya and AAP MP Sanjay Singh’s arrests were cases to substantiate their fear of similar action against Kejriwal.
“You see the chronology before Manish Sisodia was arrested. The BJP leaders started saying that Manisha Sisodia is going to be arrested . The ED dismissed the claims, but later he was arrested,” Shah said. Similarly, over the last 24 hours, every BJP leader has said Kejriwal will be arrested.
Last evening, AAP leader and Delhi’s Law and PWD Minister, Atishi, posted on X, “News coming in that ED is going to raid @ArvindKejriwal’s residence tomorrow morning. Arrest likely.”
Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also shared his apprehensions about Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED in a social media post.
“It is heard that tomorrow morning, ED is going to reach the house of Chief Minister Kejriwal and arrest him,” Bharadwaj said.
Both Sisodia and Singh continue to be in jail as their bail applications have been denied by the courts for the last few months.