Slippery grounds of Arvind Kejriwal as graft heat builds on AAP
AAP campaigns in Vindhya in Madhya Pradesh for Assembly election.
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, November 2: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has essentially said that he is too important to be summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning. In his reply to the ED, Kejriwal has suggested that he’s keen to see investigative agency come to his door to question him in place of him obliging with an appearance.
Calling the ED summon “vague and politically motivated”, Kejriwal asked the investigative agency to clarify on three grounds – “Is he being summoned as a witness or a suspect; the summon fails to provide details for the reasons for which has was summoned; and whether he was being summoned in an individual capacity or as the Chief Minister of Delhi or as the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).”
While Kejriwal may possibly be the first serving chief minister who would have to face the questioning by an investigative agency probing the Delhi Excise Scam, which allegedly has been linked with the political funding of the Aam Aadmi Party for its Goa Assembly election last year while there has allegedly been links with a few individuals from the southern parts of the country.
Also, the Supreme Court while rejecting the bail plea of the former deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia has underlined that there had indeed been a transaction of Rs 338 crores in the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case slapped by the ED in the Delhi Excise Scam. By not cooperating in the probe, which is already in the scrutiny of the apex court, Kejriwal is evidently guilty of seeking himself a higher pedestal than the law of the land.
While all are equal before the law of the land, the Delhi chief minister surely is on slippery grounds to claim that his services are required in the ongoing electioneering in the poll bound states, as well as the national capital where he is the chief of the governance. Also, the chief minister is earning the charges of being evasive by beating around the bushes to cite political motives to the summon by the ED.
He is definitely not the first chief minister to be questioned by an investigative agency. There had been several before him who have cooperated with the investigative agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The last famous grilling of a serving chief minister by an investigative agency was of none other than the incumbent prime minister, Narendra Modi, who had spent full day with lunch break while taking the questions from a battery of top investigator of the CBI.
Kejriwal has an abundant duty to cooperate in a probe by an agency which has powers given by the Constitution of India. By defying the summon, Kejriwal may be tripping on his commitments to the oath taken under the Constitution.
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