UNCERTAINTY ON WHETHER DELHI CM WILL APPEAR BEFORE ED TODAY

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday in connection with its investigation into a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, but uncertainty prevailed till late on Tuesday whether or not Kejriwal would appear before the central probe agency.

- Alok KN Mishra

Kejriwal, who is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, has skipped two previous summons November 2 and on December 22 calling them "illegal and politically motivated".

on An official in the chief minister's office said, "We will act as per the law." Separately, AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar, during a press conference on Tuesday, also said, "We will act as per law." The Delhi government's 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city's flagging liquor business. It aimed to replace a sales-volume-based regime with a licence fee-based one for traders, promised swankier stores, and introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor a first for Delhi.

The plan, however, came to an abrupt end, with lieutenant governor VK Saxena recommending a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged irregularities in the regime. This ultimately resulted in the policy being scrapped prematurely and being replaced by the 2020-21 regime.