Delhi Minister Atishi said Arvind Kejriwal could be arrested and put behind the bars when he appears before the Enforcement Directorate on November 2, adding that BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi want to finish off the Aam Aadmi Party.
"There are reports that that when Arvind Kejriwal appears before ED on November 2, ED will arrest and put him in jail. BJP and the PM want to finish off AAP. If he is arrested, it won't be because there is any case against him but because he has spoken against the BJP," Atishi told reporters.
"The AAP defeated the BJP in Delhi Assembly polls twice and also in MCD polls. BJP and PM Modi know that they cannot defeat AAP in polls. Now to finish AAP, its leaders are being put in jail. Putting all the big leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party behind bars means only one thing that they (BJP) want to finish AAP," she added.
She said other state leaders like Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin will be the next targets.
"The targeting of those who speak against BJP and the misuse of ED and CBI will not end with Arvind Kejriwal, but all leaders of Opposition and INDIA alliance will also be put in jail. After Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, the next number will be of Hemant Soren, then Tejashwi Yadav, then Pinarayi Vijayan and then Stalin."
Atishi's statement comes after the ED summoned Kejriwal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for questioning on November 2 in connection with its ongoing investigation into the Delhi excise policy scam case.
In April, the CBI had summoned the Delhi CM in connection with the case and questioned him for nearly nine hours though he had not been named as an accused in its FIR.
On the other hand, the ED has mentioned the AAP supremo's name multiple times in its chargesheets filed in the case. The agency claimed that the accused were in touch with Kejriwal regarding the preparation and execution of the excise policy.
The case pertains to the allegations about the Delhi government's policy to grant licences to certain liquor dealers by taking bribes. The policy was later scrapped and AAP has dismissed the allegations raised by the central agencies.
-- with inputs from agencies
