By Sushil Kutty
Why does not the Enforcement Directorate arrest Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Excise Policy Case and be done with it? What is stopping the Enforcement Directorate from drawing a line on summons and follow-up with real action? On March 21, Kejriwal petitioned the Delhi High Court, asking that no “coercive action” be taken against him. While that is something to think about, maybe the Modi government does not want to arrest Kejriwal, perhaps, because of the martyrdom that Kejriwal will wear as a crown post his arrest. It has been told, again and again, that Kejriwal is a wily fox and the only politician “Modi fears”.
That being said, Arvind Kejriwal has been dodging ED summons for weeks with one or the other excuse while AAP spokespersons laughed at ED’s complete inability to arrest the so-called “kingpin” of the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The Enforcement Directorate has to date issued nine summons to Kejriwal. The Delhi Chief Minister dodged them all, insisting that ‘appearance” was out of question as there was a “clear intent” to arrest him as elections were round the corner and he was AAP’s star campaigner. Delhi education minister Atishi Marlena, who will be at the helm of AAP if Kejriwal takes a jail-holiday, said, “If ED’s intent is clear, why does it not say in the court that it will not arrest the CM?”
That is kind of convoluted thinking. No investigating agency will state in court that it will “not arrest” an accused if the need arose; definitely not in an ongoing investigation when fresh developments may catch up with the case at any point in time. Instead, Arvind Kejriwal should worry about what the court asked him, “Why aren’t you appearing before the investigating agency for questioning?”
Isn’t that green signal to the Enforcement Directorate to pick up Kejriwal and question him? It is about time, the investigating agency made its stand on summons to Kejriwal plain. So far, the ED has only confused with its summons-upon-summon response. The ED appears to be guided by the Modi government’s stance, which in turn appears to be following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2024 general election agenda. The BJP doesn’t want Arvind Kejriwal and AAP to claim martyrdom when the votes are being cast. Even otherwise, the AAP is known to sweep elections.
The fact is, can Kejriwal be blamed for not answering to the summons after it becomes abundantly clear that there wouldn’t be an arrest, why waste 8/9 hours of the day listening to boring ED officials asking stale questions? The latest 9th summons asked the AAP convener to present himself before the ED on March 21. As expected, the Delhi Chief Minister stayed away, saying the 9th summons was as “illegal” as the eight others before.
But there are indications that Kejriwal is now cornered. One, why would the court tell Kejriwal that “arrest on the first or second day” was not “normal practice”; that an investigating agency has to record the reasons for arrest first? Arvind Kejriwal’s lawyer deflected and cited Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia’s arrests, stating that investigating agencies were now practicing a “new style” of making arrests.
Arvind Kejriwal’s counsel sought “protection” and insisted that there should be “no coercive steps”, reminding the High Court that the Delhi Chief Minister was no “common criminal”, that he wouldn’t be running away, “Where can I run? Can anyone have more roots in society than me?” Should that mean, Kejriwal’s arrest must be kept in abeyance for as long as the Delhi Chief Minister is not in a mood to abscond?
What special rights do Chief Ministers have that common people don’t have? And why should Kejriwal be told whether he has been summoned as an accused or as a witness in the case? That remains a question to be probed. For an “aam aadmi”, leading the Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal is insisting that he must be treated as “khas aadmi”. His status will be subject of scrutiny only after he presents himself before the ED.
“And, by the way, why aren’t you taking appropriate legal action if you are anticipating arrest?” the court pulled up Kejriwal – shouldn’t he be applying for anticipatory bail? “You received the first summons on October 30. We have seen your reply and you have given several reasons, including that Diwali festivities are around the corner. And now, we are on to the next festival, elections. So this would go on. Before anything else, you are a citizen of the country, the summons are by name.”
What does that say? It says Kejriwal has run out of excuses. It says that AAP spokespersons should reconcile to the possibility of the Delhi Chief Minister and the AAP convener guiding AAP and running the Delhi state from behind the Tihar bars. Whatever is happening with Manish Sisodia, is happening with Satyender Jain, is happening with Sanjay Singh can also happen with Chief Minister Kejriwal. Arvind Kejriwal is no more special than any of these colleagues of his. As of now, all the cards are against Kejriwal and BRS leader K. Kavitha’s arrest was the last straw on Kejriwal’s back. Now, he is with his back to the wall. But then, why is the Enforcement Directorate holding back? (IPA Service)
