Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses a press conference regarding summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy case, in New Delhi, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday claimed that the ruling BJP wants to arrest him to prevent him from campaigning in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, saying it intends to jail all honest leaders who are unwilling to join their stable.
Kejriwal’s video message posted on social media handles came a day after he refused to appear before the Enforcement Directorate for the third time and Delhi ministers along with AAP leaders claimed that he will be arrested as the ED was planning to raid his official residence in Delhi excise policy case.
He said his lawyers told him that the three summons issued to him by the ED were “illegal” and the agency responded to the issues he raised in letters as it did not have any reply and knew it was not legal. If there is a legal summons, he said, he will surely comply with it.
Insisting that “honesty” is his greatest wealth, Kejriwal said he appeared before the CBI eight months ago when he was summoned. He said several raids were conducted in the case but not even a single penny was recovered.
“The BJP’s intention is not to probe. Their intent is to prevent me from campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. Just two months before the elections, why is there a (ED) summon? You investigated for two years…Why not call earlier?” he said.
Kejriwal said the country would not progress by jailing honest leaders and whatever happening in the country is “dangerous”, which needs to be prevented. “I have always fought for the country, I am willing to fight for the country with every breath, I am willing to shed every drop of my blood for the country. We need to save the country,” he said.
Claiming that those leaders who refuse to join the BJP are facing arrests, he said the ED and CBI cases against those people who join the saffron party are put on cold storage.
“Today the BJP is not catching the corrupt but using the ED and CBI to coerce leaders to join them…Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Vijay Nair refused to join hands with the BJP and they are in jail. Why are we able to fight the BJP? Because there is not a single penny earned through corruption. If we had even a bit like others, we also would have to join the BJP,” he said.