Delhi CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who skipped questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi Liquors scam case today (Thursday, November 2) morning, went campaigning in Madhya Pradesh where he was seen resorting to his usual theatrics. At a rally in Singrauli, the AAP supremo was heard dramatically announcing that the Enforcement Directorate could arrest his body but not his thoughts.
Dramatically stating that Kejriwal is inherent in every common person, he added that while they could detain him, they would not be able to detain thousands, lakhs, or crores of Kejriwals.
इस एक केजरीवाल को तो गिरफ्तार कर लोगे… हजारों लाखों करोड़ों केजरीवाल को कैसे गिरफ्तार करोगे?
— Aam Aadmi Party Delhi (@AAPDelhi) November 2, 2023
– ये हमें गिरफ्तार कर ले कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता… केजरीवाल जेल जाने से नहीं डरता
– CM @ArvindKejriwal #MPMeinBhiKejriwalpic.twitter.com/Drkkx89Qdw
Kejriwal said, “Standing in Delhi, they are threatening every day that they will arrest Kejriwal…. It doesn’t matter if he arrests us, Kejriwal is not afraid of going to jail. You will arrest Kejriwal’s body… how will you arrest Kejriwal’s thoughts? You will arrest this one Kejriwal… how will you arrest thousands, lakhs and crores of Kejriwals?” he said.
“The day the election results come, I don’t know whether I will be in jail or out… But wherever I am, I should hear that people are saying that Kejriwal had come to Singrauli and the people of Singrauli sent him back after giving a historic victory,” he added.
#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh: AAP national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal says, "…Just like the people of Delhi and Punjab did charisma, the people of Madhya Pradesh will do charisma in the coming days… I don't know whether I will be in jail or somewhere else on the day of… pic.twitter.com/k5Hbg3DZCn
— ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2023
It may be noted that Kejriwal was summoned by the federal agency to appear before it on November 2. However, the CM skipped the summons and left for Madhya Pradesh later in the day to hold a roadshow in Singrauli.
Terming the summons ‘illegal’, Kejriwal responded to the summons by ED by saying that he would not be appearing for the questioning as he had other events scheduled. He had claimed that he is a star campaigner with state elections coming up and therefore, he has other commitments which would not allow him to attend the summons.
Arvind Kejriwal also added that the summons was “motivated and issued for extraneous considerations” and asked ED to withdraw it.
As reported earlier, ED conducted raids at Delhi Minister Raaj Kumar Anand’s home on Thursday morning, just before the agency planned to question Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The probe agency is also raiding nine locations connected to Anand for a money laundering investigation.
The case against the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi Liquor scam became stronger after the Supreme Court denied bail to AAP leader and former deputy CM of Delhi Manish Sisodia. While denying bail, the apex court noted that a money trail of Rs 338 crore has been tentatively established in the case.
The liquor policy for 2021-22 was put into effect by the Delhi administration on 17th November 2021, however, it was cancelled at the end of September 2022 due to accusations of corruption. According to the agencies, the new regulation led to monopolisation and gave economic advantages to people who weren’t eligible for liquor licenses.
