AAP: Fabricated excise policy case against Delhi CM, bid to silence opposition

NEW DELHI: The CBI summons to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case spurred a string of meetings in AAP, with top functionaries having discussions with their national convener.
While Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said in a press conference that Kejriwal would go to the CBI office on Sunday, sources said the chief minister was still seeking legal opinion. "The chief minister has been talking to senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi on how to respond to the summons," said a senior functionary, requesting anonymity.
Singh, meanwhile, alleged that Kejriwal had been summoned only because he "exposed" the alleged ties between PM Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani in the Delhi assembly. He claimed that the liquor case was "completely fabricated" and "politically influenced".
Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, has summoned Kejriwal for questioning on Sunday. While the FIR was registered last August, the agency arrested former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, named as accused number one, in February.
"The day CM Arvind Kejriwal exposed this (Adani) scam, I told him that he'll be the next on BJP's hitlist as, by exposing PM Modi's ties with Adani, he had targeted BJP right where it hurts them the most," Singh said.
Despite the summons, Kejriwal's "crusade against corruption" won't stop, he added. "No conspiracy, no tactic, no trap can muffle the voice of CM Arvind Kejriwal. His fight will go on regardless of what happens to him." The AAP parliamentarian pointed out that it was not the first time that Kejriwal had been targeted by CBI, and raids and searches were conducted at his office and residence in some other cases too.
Delhi government minister Atishi called the summons BJP's "formula to silence opposition" and accused the Centre of "misusing agencies" to intimidate opposition leaders. She added that the companies of some industrialists, said to be close to Modi, were yet to be investigated for corruption.
"I would like to mention to BJP and the PM that none of the AAP workers is scared of their hollow threats. The birth of Aam Aadmi Party took place from an anti-corruption movement and our goal is to fight against corruption in this country," Atishi said.
Apart from Sisodia, 14 more people, including an IAS officer, a DANICS officer and one more excise department official, have been made accused by CBI in the case. The policy was withdrawn by the government in September 2022.
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