Arvind Kejriwal quizzed for 9 hours by CBI in liquor case

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Sunday questioned for around 9 hours in connection with the liquor policy case as around 8.30pm CBI officials announced that the questioning has been over. Kejriwal was seen coming out of the CBI headquarters in his car. He was summoned by the investigative agency at 11am. It is the same case in connection with which the investigative agency in February arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. Kejriwal's summons led to dramatic developments in Delhi as AAP leaders protesting peacefully near the CBI office were detained. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha who was detained for the protest said the BJP suffers from Kejriwal phobia and the detention of the AAP leaders proves that. "We want to give the BJP a message that our party was carved out of the anti-corruption movement and has seen all kinds of struggle. We aren't scared of CBI, ED or police detention. BJP suffers from Kejriwal phobia. It is because of Kejriwal's fear that the BJP has come down to such an act. We have not been told our crime or the IPC regulation that we have broken," Raghav said. 

The Aam Aadmi Party has called a special Assembly session on Monday which L-G VK Saxena has opposed. “I fail to understand as to under what circumstances and under which provision of the GNCTD Act, 1991 the Second Part of the Fourth Session (Budget Session) of the Seventh Legislative Assembly has been convened instead of moving a proposal for Prorogation of the Budget Session and convening of the "One Day Session as per the Cabinet Decision.” the LG said in his note. The CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) are probing the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22 that allegedly favoured certain liquor dealers, an allegation that AAP has strongly denied. The agency had summoned Mr. Kejriwal seeking his appearance as a witness before the investigation team to question him on the inputs generated during the probe, CBI sources said. The ED, in its second chargesheet against 17 accused, alleged that a part of the “kickback” was used for the AAP’s poll campaign ahead of the Goa Assembly election in 2022. The ED in its chargesheet says that one of the accused, Sameer Mahandru, allegedly told the agency that “the new excise policy was a brainchild of Arvind Kejriwal”.On February 26, AAP leader Manish Sisodia was arrested after nearly eight hours of questioning in the case with officials saying his answers were not satisfactory. He quit as Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi on February 28.