Delhi state chief Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for questioning in the Delhi excise policy case, his party confirmed on Saturday.
Kejriwal has been asked to appear before the court on Sunday. This is the first time in recent decades when the agency has summoned a state chief as part of an investigation.
Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now conspiring to arrest the Delhi chief minister and called the case fabricated. The BJP has welcomed the CBI's move and said that the law is taking its course and Kejriwal is the mastermind behind the liquor policy scam.
Meanwhile, many opposition parties, including Bihar-based Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena (UBT), hit out at BJP and called the summoning of Kejriwal a political witch-hunt.
CPI general secretary D. Raja said: “Kejriwal is the elected Chief Minister of Delhi. The way it is being done raises several questions regarding how the CBI is functioning...”
Liquor Policy Case
The investigative agency has already arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on February 26 in the same alleged scam.
The AAP-ruled Delhi government in November 2021 introduced a new liquor policy under which the government planned to open 800 new liquor shops in the capital. Licenses were issued to private business holders, thus simultaneously ending liquor sales supervised by the government.
Under the new law, it became easier for private players to get a liquor-selling license. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the Delhi government bent the rules and gave undue benefits to liquor vend licensees.