Arvind Kejriwal is the Chief Minister of Delhi and National Convener of the ruling AAP (FIle).
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in the liquor policy case. Mr Kejriwal has been called in on Thursday. This is the second time the central agency has summoned the Aam Aadmi Party boss; the first was on November 2. Mr Kejriwal had skipped that summons, opting instead to campaign for his party in Madhya Pradesh.
The AAP leader then wrote to the ED to say he could not attend as he was busy campaigning for the election in Madhya Pradesh. Amid speculation he could be arrested on that day, Mr Kejriwal had also called the summons "illegal" and "politically motivated", and demanded it be withdrawn.
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"The summons does not specify whether I am being summoned as an individual, or in my capacity as Chief Minister of Delhi, or as the National Convener of AAP," he wrote to the central agency.
Mr Kejriwal and his party slammed what they called "a fishing and roving inquiry".
An individual can skip a summons thrice, after which the agency can secure a non-bailable warrant.
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In April, the CBI questioned Mr Kejriwal - as a witness - for nine hours, after which he slammed the agency. "The CBI asked me 56 questions (but) everything is fake. I am convinced they don't have anything on us... not a single piece of evidence," he said after being quizzed at its Lodhi Road office.
READ | "CBI Asked 56 Questions...": Arvind Kejriwal After 9-Hour Questioning
The fresh summons to Mr Kejriwal will also renew talk of his party being made an accused in this case, which would be an unprecedented first in Indian politics. The Supreme Court in October posed this question to the Enforcement Directorate - "why isn't the political party still not made an accused?"
Sources had then told NDTV there is a money trail leading to the AAP and its election campaigns.
READ | "Want To Clarify...": Supreme Court On "Making AAP An Accused" Question
The Delhi liquor case refers to allegations that the AAP government's revamped alcohol sales policy of 2022 for the national capital allowed it to receive crores of rupees in kickbacks from cartels, and that this money was channelled into funding the party's election expenses in Goa and other states.
Specifically, both the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation have alleged the policy allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers, who paid bribes for liquor sale licenses.
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The AAP has strongly refuted all charges. The Delhi government reported a 27 per cent increase in income from the policy and generated Rs 8,900 crore in revenue.
The policy was scrapped in July last year and the old policy was brought back.
Mr Kejriwal's former deputy, Manish Sisodia, and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh have both been arrested in connection with this case. Mr Sisodia was arrested in February and Mr Singh in October.
Last month Mr Singh made a sensational claim, declaring, "A big conspiracy is being devised to frame Arvind Kejriwal." He did not identify the conspirators but it was seen as a warning against the ruling BJP, which the opposition claims uses central agencies to target and harass rivals before elections.
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The 2024 Lok Sabha election is around three months away, as are polls in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and, potentially, Jammu and Kashmir.