Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on January 3, 2024, skipped the third summon issued by the ED in the Delhi excise policy case and sent a written reply calling the notice illegal, AAP sources said.

Party calls the ED’s notice illegal and alleges that the agency’s intention is to arrest Mr. Kejriwal and stop him from election campaigning ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) asserted that Mr. Kejriwal was ready to agency but claimed that the summons was sent with the intention of arresting him.

AAP Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said it is a conspiracy by the Central Government to arrest Mr. Kejriwal before the Lok Sabha election.

“Despite asking many times, the ED has not yet clarified whether he [Mr. Kejriwal] was being summoned as a witness or an accused”. 

“Mr. Sisodia will be proven innocent and will be released from jail and the Central Government also knows this,” Mr. Bharadwaj said. “Across the country, there is an attempt to arrest Opposition leaders using the ED. But there is no action against BJP leaders,“ he noted.

The case against the AAP chief is based on a first information report (FIR) alleging multiple irregularities in the formation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy (2021-22) by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The policy was withdrawn after allegations of corruption.