Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning on 21st December, has reportedly 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.
Arvind Kejriwal’s scheduled departure date for the program was 19th December, however, he was unable to make it because of the I.N.D.I. Alliance meeting. Therefore today at approximately 1:30 pm he headed for the prearranged session, along with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann.
The summon related to the money laundering case involving the excise policy which has resulted in the jail sentences of his party colleagues including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and ex-Cabinet Minister Satyendar Jain who is at present out on bail until 8th January of next year.
According to officials, he 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.
Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha stated that the AAP supremo’s program had been scheduled in advance and legal advice was being taken from lawyers. “Lawyers are examining the ED’s notice and such steps will be taken that are legally correct. Everyone knows the Chief Minister is leaving for ‘Vipassana’ on December 19. He regularly goes for this meditation course. It’s a pre-scheduled and pre-announced plan.”
He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party is attempting to “weaken” Arvind Kejriwal and argued that it is “afraid” of him. “If today, Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh join BJP, they will welcome them with drums and get the cases closed.”
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.”
