The  Enforcement Directorate ED  has once again summoned Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.  The ED has summoned Kejriwal for questioning on December  21  in the excise policy case.

Delhi Excise Policy: The CM Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government implemented the new excise policy for liquor traders on November 17, 2021,  but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption. According to investigating agencies, under the new policy, the profits of liquor wholesalers were increased from 5  to  12 percent. Earlier, the  ED had summoned CM Kejriwal for questioning during the assembly elections of five states, but at that time he did not appear due to being busy in the election campaign.

As per the schedule, Kejriwal will leave for an undisclosed location on December  19, a day after the winter session of the Delhi Assembly ends. Kejriwal goes to do a  10-day  course in Vipassana every year. According to sources, this year also he will be in Vipassana from December  19  to  December 30. Vipassana is a meditation method. Through this, they calm their minds and achieve self-realisation. However, now after the ED summons, it has to be seen whether Kejriwal goes to the agency’s office for questioning.

The agency had earlier summoned Kejriwal on November 2 for questioning in connection with alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped excise policy case. On April  16  this year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned  Kejriwal for over  9  hours in the case.

Two top AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are behind bars in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi liquor scam. Sanjay Singh, who represents the party in the Rajya Sabha, was arrested on October 4  after the  ED raided his house in connection with a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy. Sisodia was first arrested by the  CBI on February 26  for his alleged role in the scam. He resigned from the Delhi Cabinet on February 28. The ED later arrested the  AAP leader on March 9 from Tihar Jail, where he is currently lodged in judicial custody. In its nearly 270-page supplementary charge sheet, the  ED has accused Sisodia as a “key conspirator” in the case.