Amid ED summons, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal moves motion of confidence in assembly

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday placed a motion to seek a vote of confidence in the assembly. The discussion on this motion will happen tomorrow, and the House has been adjourned until then.

This is the fifth Budget session of the seventh Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

The motion in assembly came days after the Enforcement Directorate once again summoned the Aam Aadami Party (AAP) chief, for the sixth time, in connection with an ongoing investigation into the now-scrapped liquor policy.

Kejriwal, who has denied any wrongdoing, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party tried to poach AAP MLAs and topple his government using law enforcement agencies.

Kejriwal has been asked to appear before the central probe agency on February 19. Previously, he was summoned on February 2, January 18 and January 3 this year, and on December 21 and November 2 in 2023.

The chief minister consistently labels these notices as “illegal.”

The sixth summons follows a Delhi court’s response to an ED-filed complaint, instructing Kejriwal to appear, asserting that prima facie, the AAP chief is “legally bound” to comply.

“From the contents of the complaint and the material placed on record, prima facie offence under Section 174 of the IPC is made out and there are sufficient grounds for proceeding against accused Arvind Kejriwal…”

“Accordingly, issue summons to accused Arvind Kejriwal for the offence under Section 174 of the IPC for February 17, 2024,” the judge said.

Notably, key AAP leaders—Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh—have been jailed in money laundering cases.