Arvind Kejriwal likely to skip ED summons today in Delhi excise policy case

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was scheduled to appear before the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday in the alleged excise policy scam, will likely skip the summons. Kejriwal is also scheduled to travel to Madhya Pradesh's Singhrauli today, for an electoral campaign.The summons to Kejriwal was served six months after he was questioned for nearly nine hours by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case.

However, Kejriwal responded to the probe agency, saying its summons was "illegal" and "politicised". The Chief Minister also asked the Enforcement Directorate to reverse its summons and alleged the notice was sent to him on the directions of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to prevent him from campaigning in the election-bound states. The Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22 is being probed by the ED and the CBI, as it allegedly favoured certain liquor dealers, an allegation that AAP has strongly denied.On Wednesday, Kejriwal's party alleged that the Chief Minister would be the first to be arrested as part of the BJP's plan to target top INDIA alliance leaders, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in the case in February this year. The ED arrested Sisodia in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar jail. His bail plea was rejected by the Supreme Court earlier this week.