The Delhi Assembly on Saturday take the motion of confidence that was moved by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday to show of strength amid allegations by his party that the BJP was trying to “poach” AAP MLAs.
New Delhi: In the ongoing saga between Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Enforcement Directorate, the Delhi court granted permission on Saturday to CM Kejriwal to appear physically on March 16 in connection with skipping ED’s summons in the excise policy case. The court permitted the Delhi CM to skip today’s hearing, after he told it, via video conferencing, that he has to attend the trust motion in the House today. CM Arvind Kejriwal moved a confidence motion in the Delhi Assembly on Friday amid allegations by AAP party that the BJP was trying to ‘poach’ its MLAs. He stated that there was a need to show the people that the House has confidence in the council of ministers.
Arvind Kejriwal To Appear Before Rouse Avenue Court Today
CM Kejriwal will appear before a Rouse Avenue court on March 16 and to explain why he had skipped past five summons issued by the ED in connection with the liquor policy case.
After moving the vote of confidence motion in the Delhi Assembly yesterday, CM Kejriwal stated that the two AAP MLAs informed him that they were approached by BJP leaders who claimed that he would be arrested soon.
“The MLAs were told that 21 AAP legislators have agreed to leave the party and more are in touch with the BJP. They offered the MLAs ₹ 25 crore to join the BJP. The MLAs told me they did not accept. When we spoke to other MLAs, we found that they had not contacted 21, but seven. They were trying to carry out another Operation Lotus,” Kejriwal said.
“I want to show that none of our MLAs defected, and all remain steadfastly aligned with us,” he added.
Second Time Of AAP’s Trust Vote
Notably, this is the second time that the AAM Adami Party government has called for the trust vote. AAP has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Assembly and the BJP has 8.
The Rose Avenue Court summoned CM Kejriwal last week to appear before it today, noting that the AAP chief was “legally bound” to comply.
In its complaint, the central agency alleged that CK Kejriwal intentionally did not want to respect and obey the summons and continued giving “lame excuses”. If a high-ranking public representative disobeyed the law, it would “set a wrong example for the common man i.e. the Aam Aadmi,” the agency said.
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Kejriwal Skipped Five Summons
The Delhi CM has skipped five summons and his party have repeatedly claimed that these summonses were illegal and the ED only wants to arrest him. Since the first summons, there has been speculation that CM Kejriwal would be arrested by the agency after his questioning.
Senior AAP leader Atishi also claimed that the BJP has approached several AAP MLAs with bribes and threats in a bid to induce defection.
The AAP leader said, “BJP has started ‘Operation Lotus 2.0’, and is trying to topple the democratically elected AAP government in Delhi. 7 MLAs of the AAP have been contacted by the BJP, and have been told, that Arvind Kejriwal will be arrested soon, after which there will be a rift among AAP MLAs. They are in touch with 21 of our MLAs, using whom they aim to topple the Delhi government.”
“Those 7 MLAs have been offered Rs 25 crores each… Operation Lotus is the tactic used by the BJP to come into power in states, where they are not democratically elected… Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh are examples,” she added.
AAP’s Three Leaders In Jail
Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendra Jain are in jail, AAP is alleging that the BJP also wants to put CM Kejriwal behind the bars.
The CBI argues that liquor companies played a role in shaping the excise policy, anticipating a 12% profit. A liquor lobby referred to as the “South Group” allegedly paid kickbacks, a portion of which was funneled to public servants. The Enforcement Directorate has accused the laundering of these kickbacks.
The BJP claims that the purported scam’s proceeds were utilized by the AAP to finance its extensive campaign in Gujarat, where it secured 12.91% of the votes, solidifying its status as a national party.
