Arvind Kejriwal to undertake three-day Gujarat visit as AAP airs arrest fears

Arvind Kejriwal to undertake three-day Gujarat visit as AAP airs arrest fears

Aam Aadmi Party national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will undertake a three-day visit to Gujarat from January 6-January 9. The visit comes amid heightened buzz around raids at Kejriwal’s residence in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case and his subsequent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.

During his visit to Gujarat, Kejriwal will tour the state in connection with the Lok Sabha elections and is scheduled to address several party functions as well as public gatherings. He is also expected to meet jailed AAP leader Chaitar Vasawa during his stay in the state.

On Wednesday evening, a hoard of AAP leaders took to social media to claim that ED was planning to raid and arrest Kejriwal on Thursday. The leaders who sounded the alarm included AAP ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj and party national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak, among others.

The Delhi Chief Minister’s scheduled visit to Gujarat comes even as the Enforcement Directorate denied any raids linked to him on Thursday. TV reports said that the central probe agency plans to issue a fresh summons to Kejriwal, asking him to appear before it for questioning in the Delhi liquor policy case.

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Kejriwal has already skipped three summons issued by the ED in connection with the case. He was earlier asked to appear before the agency on December 18, November 2 and December 3. Each time, Kejriwal has skipped appearance terming the summons “illegal”, and “motivated” and claiming that they were “issued for vexatious considerations”.

Two of Kejriwal’s ministerial colleagues — former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh — are already in custody in connection with the case. Kejriwal’s non-appearance has sparked a bitter war of words between the AAP and the BJP, with the latter claiming that the Delhi CM repeatedly skipping the ED’s summons was proof of his guilt and involvement in the alleged scam.

Also Read: Arvind Kejriwal skips ED summons again, draws condemnation from BJP and Congress alike

The Delhi CM is suffering from VVIP syndrome. He is forgetting that he may be CM, but he’s not above the law. The ED has been sending him summons after summons since November but he has been running away from investigation…yesterday he asked the ED to send across a questionnaire. Will he decide how the investigation will be carried out? This is an attempt to play the victim card,” Delhi BJP Secretary Bansuri Swaraj said in a statement.

“They (AAP) did corruption and now raising a hue and cry that Kejriwal will be arrested. Investigating agency gave opportunity to Kejriwal to present evidence before it, but he evaded the agency. Kejriwal has done corruption and now wants to turn that into an event. His behaviour is shameful,” said Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva.

The AAP, on the other hand, has sought to link the ED’s actions to the Lok Sabha elections this year and claimed that it was part of the BJP’s conspiracy to scuttle Kejriwal’s campaign. “Why is he being summoned just before the polls? The Centre is hatching a conspiracy to arrest Kejriwal before the polls,” AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said at a press conference.