Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday skipped the Enforcement Directorate’s summons in the liquor policy case for the fourth time, reiterating his stance that the notice for him to appear before the agency was illegal. He had been asked to depose on January 18 or January 19.

The Aam Aadmi Party chief once again alleged that the summons were part of a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party to stop him from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Subsequently, BJP National Spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia referred to Kejriwal as the “liquor scam kingpin” and said that the chief minister seems to be scared of deposing before the Enforcement Directorate.

“If there is any example of anarchy, someone who has anarchy in his DNA, it is Arvind Kejriwal,” Bhatia said.

The Enforcement Directorate’s case is based on a first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation alleging irregularities in the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy.

On January 3, Kejriwal had for the third time ignored summons from the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the case. The chief minister had been asked to depose on November 2 and December 21 as well.

The Aam Aadmi Party said on January 3 that Kejriwal was ready to cooperate with the investigation but claimed that the law enforcement agency’s notice was illegal.

“Their intention is to arrest Arvind Kejriwal,” the party alleged. “They want to stop him from [the 2024 Lok Sabha] election campaign.”

The case

The Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party modified the policy to ensure a 12% profit margin for wholesalers and a nearly 185% profit margin for retailers.

The Enforcement Directorate has also claimed that members of a so-called South Group had paid at least Rs 100 crore in kickbacks to leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party through businessman Vijay Nair.

Two senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders – Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh – are currently in jail in connection with the case. The party and its leaders have denied the allegations.