Central agencies work for the government and not for any party, BJP leader Avinash Rai Khanna said here on Thursday and asked why Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was avoiding the Enforcement Directorate if he has done no wrong.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in an excise policy-linked case and wrote to the agency demanding withdrawal of the notice summoning him, claiming it was "illegal and politically motivated".
The AAP national convener's party colleagues Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in this case.
Reacting to the development, Khanna, the BJP's in-charge for Himachal Pradesh, said, "Central agencies are independent and are employees of the government. They are not with any party but work for the government.
"His (Kejriwal's) name has come up in the excise policy scam, he has just been called for an inquiry and if there is nothing wrong on his part, then why is he afraid, why is he avoiding the inquiry?” he told PTI during a visit here.
The former Rajya Sabha MP said, "Kejriwal must show up before the ED and face its questions. He should not be scared of it. Why will the ED arrest him for no reason? Why would the ED call someone big like him if it does not have any evidence against him?" The BJP leader also slammed the coming together of several opposition parties to form the INDIA bloc, claiming that the alliance has no actual agenda and would disintegrate before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"This alliance is faceless and directionless. They do not have any leader, they do not have any issue and their criticism of the Narendra Modi government is just for the sake of it, nothing else. They (INDIA bloc allies) will not stick together for long," Khanna said.
In his reply to the ED's notice, Kejriwal alleged that the summons was "illegal, politically motivated" and aimed at preventing him from campaigning in the poll-bound states. It was also "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law", he has alleged while claiming the notice was sent to him for extraneous considerations at the behest of the BJP.
The AAP had claimed that Kejriwal would be the first to be arrested as part of the BJP's plan to target top INDIA alliance leaders ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the ED summons were an attempt to finish the party that is in power in Delhi and Punjab.
It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by the AAP.
The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the PMLA.
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