BJP on Thursday (21st December) slammed AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal for skipping the summons sent to him by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi liquor scam. Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Sambit Patra said that Arvind and accountability can never travel together.
Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning on 21st December, left for a 10-day ‘Vipassana’ meditation camp in Punjab on 20th December. As a result, he will not attend the questioning by ED in the Delhi Liquor Policy scam case. Taking a dig at this, Sambit Patra said, “Kejriwal is trying to hide behind Vipassana. Kusashana and Vipassana can never travel together.” Kusashana means bad governance.
Addressing Press Conference at @BJP4India HQ, New Delhi.https://t.co/8wMREHDJZJ
— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) December 21, 2023
Sambit Patra said that Arvind Kejriwal finds some other reason every time ED issues a summons to him. Sambit Patra sarcastically said, “He (Arvind Kejriwal) is going for Vipassana and how come ED dare to call him for a probe? Great, Arvind Kejriwal. Sometimes you will skip the probe because of Diwali. Sometimes you will be away in elections saying that you are the star campaigner of your party. For these reasons, you stay away from governance and your responsibilities.”
Sambit Patra further said, “Arvind and accountability will never travel together. Kejriwal and Kartavya (duty) will never travel together. If you have performed Kushasana (bad governance) then you will go to jail. We are not saying that you might be arrested but your ministers Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi Marlena said it. They even held a referendum to check if the government of Delhi will be operated from the Tihar jail. You first did Kushasana and now you are going for Vipassana. There are provisions of Vipassana in the Indian jails so that people can change their corrupt mindset.”
Arvind Kejriwal is a Vipassana practitioner
According to officials, Arvind Kejriwal takes a 10-day ‘Vipassana’ course every year and this year he is going to be a part of such camp in Anandgarh village of Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district till 30th December. ‘Vipassana’ is an ancient Indian meditation technique wherein practitioners refrain from speaking or using gestures for a prolonged amount of time to improve their mental health. The chief minister has been a longtime practitioner of the aforementioned meditation and has travelled to numerous locations, including Bengaluru and Jaipur to practice it.
Delhi Liquor Scam
The Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021–22 which granted licenses to liquor dealers is accused of enabling cartelization and favouring some dealers who had reportedly paid bribes to AAP leaders for it. The policy was then abandoned and the lieutenant governor of Delhi Vinai Kumar Saxena directed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) look into the matter. The ED then filed a complaint under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act).
Notably, the AAP chief would be missing his second consecutive deposition before the Enforcement Directorate. He was summoned by the national agency last month to appear before the agency on 2nd November but he ignored the request, claiming his hectic campaign schedule. He added that he couldn’t attend the summons since he was a star campaigner and state elections were approaching. He asked the agency to revoke the summons adding that it was “motivated and issued for extraneous considerations.”
