Published on: March 30, 2024 at 11:20 IST
Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now summoned Delhi’s Transport Minister and AAP leader Kailash Gahlot for questioning. This move comes in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to the liquor policy case.
Kailash Gahlot, who holds Ministry of Transport in the Delhi government, has been asked to appear before the ED for the first time today. The agency reportedly aims to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Gahlot’s summoning follows a string of arrests within the AAP leadership, including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, party leader Sanjay Singh, and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, all facing similar charges in the case.
While Gahlot, along with Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, remains free, the ED’s actions highlight the intensifying scrutiny faced by AAP members. Kejriwal’s recent arrest on March 21, shortly after the Delhi High Court’s refusal to shield him from arrest over the excise policy, has heightened tensions within the political sphere.
The BJP, seizing on these developments, has reiterated its call for Kejriwal’s resignation, citing moral grounds. However, Kejriwal, currently under ED custody until April 1, has vehemently denied allegations of corruption, claiming that the accusations against AAP are merely a “smokescreen” to tarnish the party’s image.
Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, has launched a WhatsApp campaign soliciting support for her husband amidst the ongoing turmoil. However, the BJP has criticized this initiative, drawing parallels between Sunita Kejriwal’s actions and those of Rabri Devi, wife of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Yadav, during his incarceration in a corruption case in the 1990s.