Kejriwal skips ED summons, calls it 'illegal'

Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday called the summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise case "illegal", issued at the behest of "political rivals who wish to silence the voice of Opposition", and to "harass" him. The Delhi chief minister asked the federal agency to recall the summons in a letter he wrote to ED on December 20.

- Alok KN Mishra

Kejriwal, who was called by ED on Thursday, left for a scheduled break at a 10-day vipassana meditation retreat in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. He had also skipped the previous summons on November 2.

"I am a conscientious law-abiding ordinary citizen of the country and I do not shirk away from complying with any summons issued in compliance with law, but your summons is (I am advised) not in consonance with law. The fact that you have deliberately sought my appearance only in person without specifying any reason...is indicative of the motive to harass me," Kejriwal wrote to ED assistant director Jogender.