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Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday appeared through videoconferencing before the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court seeking exemption from physical appearance for the day as the Budget session is going on and a confidence motion called by him in the Delhi assembly. Arvind Kejriwal was to appear the court under the summons issued to him on a complaint filed against him by ED for non-appearance before the agency.
The counsel for Arvind Kejriwal submitted that he will physically appear on the next date of hearing.
Appearing via videoconferencing, Arvind Kejriwal told the court that due to the confidence motion discussion in the assembly and the ongoing budget session, he could not physically appear before the court. The court lists the matter for March 16.
The Delhi court had asked the Aam Aami Party national convenor to appear before it on February 17 on a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for skipping summonses in an excise policy-linked case and noted that prima facie the Delhi CM was “legally bound” to comply.
The ED had moved the court after Arvind Kejriwal skipped five summonses by the probe agency for questioning in a Delhi liquor policy-linked money laundering case. Earlier this week, the ED issued its sixth summons to Arvind Kejriwal for his questioning. He has been asked to depose before the federal agency on February 19.
Arvind Kejriwal moves motion of confidence in Delhi Assembly
The motion will be discussed in the Delhi assembly on Saturday in the presence of ruling Aam Aadmi Party MLAs and Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri since seven of the eight BJP legislators were suspended for the remainder of the session for allegedly interfering during the Lt Governor’s address on Thursday.
This is the second time that the Kejriwal government has sought a trust vote in the 70-member assembly. In the current assembly, the AAP has 62 MLAs while the BJP has eight.
Tabling the confidence motion on Friday, the chief minister said, “Two MLAs had come to me saying they were contacted by BJP members offering them ₹25 crore each. They were told that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will be arrested and the government will be toppled.”
“They were also told that the BJP is in touch with 21 MLAs. They have made multiple attempts to approach our MLAs under ‘Operation Lotus’. Even this time, our MLAs refused to budge.”
He claimed that the Delhi excise policy case was false. Kejriwal’s trusted aides — Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh — are in jail in connection with the excise policy case.
Ramvir Singh Bidhuri claimed that Arvind Kejriwal, despite having the support of 62 MLAs, was bringing the trust vote motion that showed his confidence was shaken.
Bidhuri added that it was surprising that Arvin dKejriwal was tabling a confidence motion alleging BJP of trying to poach AAP MLAs, but was not presenting evidence of it to the police that has already given him a notice in this regard.
Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said the discussion on Arvind Kejriwal’s confidence motion will be held on Saturday.
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