New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday skipped the fourth summons of the Enforcement Directorate and refused to depose before the agency, terming it "illegal" and part of a "political conspiracy" to arrest him before the Lok Sabha polls. Hitting back, the BJP said the AAP supremo fears that he will be arrested, as he is the "kingpin" of the alleged excise scam.
In his reply to the summons, Mr Kejriwal said he has been busy with the budget preparations for Delhi, which will be presented before the Assembly in the upcoming session beginning on February 15.
According to sources, he also accused the ED of using "derogatory language" in its communication and said that it "displays your disrespect for the constitutional office of the chief minister and your predetermination in the matter".
On January 12, the Central agency issued the fourth summons to Mr Kejriwal and asked him to appear before the agency here on Thursday (January 18) after he had skipped three consecutive summonses in the past.
Skipping the third summons on January 3, the 55-year-old AAP national convenor had also refused to depose before the ED for the third time, saying the "non-disclosure and non-response approach" of the agency cannot sustain the test of law, equity or justice and this "obstinacy" of the ED tantamounts to assuming the roles of judge, jury and executioner.
Taking a dig at the AAP chief, the BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged that Mr Kejriwal did not appear before the ED as he was "sweating" in winter and "shaking in fear" anticipating his arrest since he knows that he is the kingpin of the excise policy "scam".
Mr Bhatia described the ED's summonses to the Delhi chief minister as "justified" and asked the AAP supremo why he doesn't approach the court challenging the probe agency's summonses instead of writing letters and skipping them.
Earlier in the day, after attending a government programme in Delhi, Mr Kejriwal left for Goa as per his schedule to take stock of the AAP's preparations for the impending Lok Sabha polls.
"The BJP is running the ED. They only intend to arrest me so that I cannot campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," the chief minister alleged and said that he has sent his reply to the Central agency.
"The four notices sent to me are illegal... Such general, non-specific notices have been quashed in the past by the courts. I have repeatedly written to the ED, saying the notices are illegal, but they have not replied to me," he added.
Alleging that the notices are being sent under a "political conspiracy", Mr Kejriwal said the probe into the excise policy case has been going on for two years, but "nothing" has been found yet. "False statements are being extracted out of people by beating them," he alleged.
According to AAP sources, Mr Kejriwal refused to appear in person before the Enforcement Directorate as he found the probe agency's communication accompanying the fourth summons issued on January 12 "arbitrary, mala fide and illegal".
Sources said Mr Kejrwial alleged in his reply that the ED was summoning him at the behest of the BJP, "not for any specific investigation or for recording any statement," but to "arrest him to prevent him from discharging his constitutional and statutory duties and from campaigning in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections".
"He stated that in a country governed by the rule of law, the language and tenor of the ED's communication ignore this basic tenet and demonstrate an arbitrary and biassed approach, which is contrary to all norms and constitutional principles," a party source said, citing his reply and adding that the ED has made several "baseless" accusations against him.
