"You have been called by ED as you are ocean of corruption...": Sambit Patra hits out at Kejriwal
New Delhi: Hours after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking withdrawal of its "vague and motivated" notice summoning him for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra attacked him saying he was the "ocean of corruption, the source of corruption" in the case.
Patra accused Kejriwal of "running away" from the summons.
"Today you don't want to appear before the Enforcement Directorate and ask how in what capacity have you been called?...You have been called by ED as you are the ocean of corruption, as the source of corruption from where corruption emerges in Delhi," Patra told reporters, while referring to Kejriwal's letter to ED.
Patra also referred to AAP leaders in jail or facing allegations in the case related to the now scrapped liquor policy and alleged that "corruption begins" from Kejriwal and has then "reached" other AAP leaders.
Patra said Kejriwal describes himself as "totally honest" but he is "totally dishonest".
He also said ED always has a basis when it issues summons.
"Kejriwal and his party do not trust anyone. The scam is of hundreds of crores. When it is such a big scam, Kejriwal should be probed. He (Kejriwal) himself used to ask questions of opposition leaders," Patra said.
Kejriwal on Thursday wrote to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) calling upon the probe agency to withdraw its "vague and motivated" notice summoning him for questioning, claiming that it was "illegal and politically motivated".
The ED had summoned the Delhi Chief Minister for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.
"The said summons is not clear as to the capacity in which I am being summoned i.e. as a witness or a suspect in the above-mentioned case. Please recall the said summons, which is to say the least is vague and motivated and I am advised, unsustainable in law," Kejriwal stated in his letter to Jogendar, Assistant Director, ED.
He further alleged that the summons appear to be politically motivated and issued for extraneous considerations.
"Simultaneous to the summons, in the afternoon of 30.10.2023, BJP leaders started making statements that soon I would be summoned and arrested. By the evening of that day, I received your summons. It is thus apparent that the said summons was leaked to select BJP leaders to malign my image and reputation and has been issued at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre," his letter read.
Kejriwal was summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April this year in connection with the case.
However, he was not named as an accused in the first information report (FIR) filed by the CBI on August 17 last year.
In February 2023, Kejriwal's Deputy Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of Delhi's new excise policy.
