Bhubaneswar: Former Delhi Chief Minister and National Convener of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is in deep trouble barely three weeks before the February 8 Assembly election there. The Union Home Minister has accorded sanction to the Enforcement Directorate to prosecute him in the infamous Delhi Liquor Scam. Incidentally, Kejriwal filed his nomination on Wednesday for the election.
The AAP leader is already on bail from the Supreme Court of India in the case which is being probed by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED. The CBI is looking into the criminality in the change of the policy which has cost nearly Rs 2000 crore to the State’s exchequer while the ED is probing the money laundering aspect in the case.
The Home Ministry’s sanction has come as a shock to the former Delhi Chief Minister. But he alone is responsible for it as he himself has invited the trouble. The ED had been lingering the case due to which he was given the bail by the apex court.
But, apparently to nullify the ED efforts, Kejriwal approached the court on some technical grounds. He had challenged the investigation on the ground that the summons issued to him was not given by the Investigating Officer but some other official in the ED. Hence the probe may be quashed.
The Union Government, however, accorded the sanction in a bid to thwart Kejriwal’s bid to get the probe quashed. With the sanction now, a threat has surfaced over the possible arrest of Kejriwal. It is another thing that the BJP led NDA government is unlikely to take any such step at the time of the Assembly election which may give advantage to the AAP leader.
