Officials claim, ED got approval to prosecute Kejriwal in excise policy scam case; You called it 'a lie'

pc: ndtv

More trouble is brewing for former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has given sanction to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute him in an alleged money laundering case linked to the liquor policy scam. Sources gave this information.

This approval has come ahead of the Delhi elections, which will be a big test for Mr Kejriwal after his defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. However, AAP has called it “false and misleading” and asked the ED to show the copy of the approval given by the Lieutenant Governor.

A case was earlier registered against Kejriwal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), but the hearing had not started. Sources said that after the Supreme Court made the approval of the Lieutenant Governor mandatory for prosecuting persons holding government positions in money laundering cases, the ED has written to the Chief Secretary seeking permission.

The BJP has strengthened its allegations against AAP and Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva welcomed the sanction to prosecute Mr Kejriwal. Sachdeva said, “We are saying that Arvind Kejriwal has taken commission in the liquor scam. As the investigation progresses, he will be implicated. He has ruined Delhi and looted crores of rupees, we welcome the investigation. ”

Chief Minister Atishi said that this news is being spread to divert people's attention from other issues and called upon the ED to make the sanction letter public. He said- “If LG Saheb has given permission to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal ji, then what problem does ED have in making public the copy of the sanction? This news is being spread only to mislead people and divert their attention from the issues. BJP, stop these conspiracies.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also said that this was an attempt to divert attention from Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on BR Ambedkar. The liquor policy scam is one of the biggest allegations leveled against the AAP government by the opposition BJP. The ED, which is probing money laundering charges related to the alleged scam, had arrested Kejriwal on March 21. The AAP chief, who was the chief minister at that time, came out of jail in September. After being released, he resigned as chief minister and vowed to return to the top post only after the people re-elect his party in the 2025 state elections.

In its final chargesheet against him and the party, the ED had named Kejriwal and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia as the masterminds of the alleged scam. Mr Sisodia was also behind bars in the liquor policy case. He was granted bail in August after 18 months in jail, with the court saying he was entitled to a “speedy trial”.

The ED had alleged that Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia made changes in the Excise Policy 2021-22 to help the “right lobby” in return for a bribe of Rs 100 crore. ED sources said that out of this, AAP spent Rs 45 crore for campaigning in Goa elections. Arvind Kejriwal has appealed to the Delhi High Court to quash the charge sheet, after which a notice was issued to the ED yesterday.