The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has called Durgesh Pathak, a senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and MLA from Rajinder Nagar, Delhi, to appear in court regarding money laundering related to the now-repeated liquor policy in Delhi. He was called by the ED at 2:00 PM today. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal assistant, Bibhav Kumar, is also being questioned.
The central agency had previously called Mr. Pathak in 2022. He is the head of the organization-building team at AAP and a member of the political affairs committee and national executive.
The new summons is being sent out at a time when two of the AAP’s most prominent figures, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, are serving prison sentences related to the ED’s case. Sanjay Singh, an AAP MP who was incarcerated, was released on bail recently.
The party has withdrawn the charges made against its leaders and asserted that investigative agencies are being used for political purposes by the BJP-led central government.
The AAP leader and Delhi minister, Atishi, stated that the ED intended to arrest her along with three other AAP leaders, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Raghav Chadha, and Durgesh Pathak, days before the summons to Mr. Pathak were sent out.
She stated that she was contacted by the BJP “through someone very close” and that she was given the choice to either join the party and “save my political career” or face arrest by the ED.
The BJP representative, she claimed, had told her that the ruling party had “made up its mind on crushing everyone in AAP.” “The BJP is expected to arrest four more AAP leaders in the next two months. She said that she would arrest me, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Raghav Chadha, and Durgesh Pathak.
In response, Ms. Atishi received a defamation notice from the Delhi unit of the BJP, which also demanded a public apology. “Atishi did not give proof of who, how, or when she was approached. The AAP is in a crisis in Delhi, which is why they are frustrated and making such petty accusations. However, we will not let her get away with it, “Virendra Sachdeva, the chief of the Delhi BJP, told the media.
The Delhi government’s alcohol policy, which was implemented in 2021 and then removed the following year, is said to have benefited license holders. The CBI began looking into the claims of irregularities on Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s recommendation. In this case, the ED is looking into the money trail.
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