NEW DELHI: The CBI today summoned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it on April 16 for questioning in the excise policy “scam”, the development coming more than a month after the agency arrested the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief’s trusted lieutenant and former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the case.
According to a notice issued by the CBI, Kejriwal has been called to appear at the agency headquarters at 11 am to answer the queries of the investigating team as a witness in the case, officials said. AAP has termed the summons to Kejriwal as a “conspiracy to arrest him” and confirmed that he would appear before the agency.
The officials said at present, the Chief Minister had been asked to depose before the agency as a witness. But the final call on the role of Kejriwal, whether as a witness or an accused, would be decided while filing a chargesheet in the case after considering multiple factors, they said.
Sources in the CBI said there were allegations that money raised from tweaking the policy in favour of certain liquor dealers and the South lobby was used during AAP’s election campaign in Goa Assembly polls and this aspect was under investigation.
The sources said CM Kejriwal was in the “know of the process of policy formulation and the influence of the South lobby, besides changes in the policy draft, which made his questioning necessary”.
Kejriwal may also be asked about an “untraceable” file containing details of the expert committee and public comments when the policy was at a nascent stage of formulation and referral of the issue to a group of ministers (GoM) headed by Sisodia; besides his possible conversation with suspects in the case, the sources said.
The CBI is bracing for elaborate security arrangements around its headquarters here and, thus, scheduled the questioning on Sunday when offices in the vicinity remain closed. The allegations revolve around the Delhi Government’s excise policy for 2021-22 wherein licences were granted to liquor traders in lieu of bribes, a charge refuted by AAP. The policy was later scrapped.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged that the CBI summons were a conspiracy to arrest the Delhi Chief Minister.