Delhi excise policy scam: CM Arvind Kejriwal to appear before CBI

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is set to appear before the CBI on Sunday in connection with the excise policy case and will be accompanied to the agencys office by his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann and cabinet colleaguesOfficials said the CBI may ask the AAP chief about the policy formulation process especially of the untraceable file which was earlier slated to be put before the Delhi Council of MinistersKejriwal is being summoned as a witness and is not an accused in the excise policy case in which his former deputy Manish Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI on February 26Sisodia was last month arrested by the Enforcement DirectorateED and is in judicial custodyAlso Read Arvind Kejriwal threatens to sue CBIThe chief minister said on Saturday that the Aam Aadmi Party AAP has emerged as a ray of hope for the country and claimed that is the reason why efforts are being made to trample itIn his first reaction after being served a notice by the CBI to appear before it at 11 am on Sunday Kejriwal said he will be present before the probe agencyAddressing a press conference here he said that no other party has been targeted in the last 75 years as the AAP He also alleged that the agencies were torturing people to extract false confessionsAsserting that if he was corrupt then no one in the world was honest Kejriwal also claimed that BJP leaders were demanding his arrest and that if the saffron party had ordered the probe agency to arrest him it cannot refuse doing soKejriwal said he will sue the CBI and ED officials for alleged perjury and filing false affidavits in courtsUnion Law Minister Kiren Rijiju took a jibe at Kejriwal over his sue CBI and ED remarks saying the AAP leader will file a case against the court if convictedParty sources said that besides Mann Aam Aadmi Party AAP MPs and Delhi ministers will accompany the party supremo to the Central Bureau of Investigations CBI headquarters hereIt is alleged that the Delhi governments excise policy for 202122 to grant licences to liquor traders favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it a charge strongly refuted by the AAP The policy was later scrappedOfficials said the CBI may also quiz Kejriwal on the statements of other accused where they have indicated the manner in which policy was allegedly influenced to favour some liquor businessmen and the South liquor lobbyIn addition the agency may also seek his role in the formulation of the excise policy and his knowledge about alleged influence being cast by the traders and South lobby members the officials saidKejriwal may also be asked if he was involved in the formulation of the policy before it was given approval they said