Kejriwal got 10 minutes to speak, here's what he told the court

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested in the Delhi liquor policy case, on Thursday alleged that the 'actual' excise scam started after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe and not when the policy was made and that the agency's 'two main motives' were to crush his Aam Aadmi Party and to declare it corrupt.

Kejriwal made the allegation before a Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court which extended his (ED) custody in the excise policy-linked money laundering case by four more days till April one.

He also alleged that the ED was running an extortion racket.

Arguing his case personally in Hindi for around 10 minutes after he was permitted by the court to do so, Kejriwal said a 'smokescreen' of the AAP being corrupt has been created before the nation.

"Are four statements enough to arrest a sitting CM?" the AAP chief asked in a jam packed court room where he was produced at the end of the six-day ED remand. Kejriwal was arrested on March 21.

At the same time, Kejriwal told Special Judge Kaveri Baweja that he is not opposing the ED remand and that the economic intelligence agency can keep him in custody as long as it wants.

After the ED sought Kejriwal's custody for another seven days arguing he needed to be confronted with some people linked with the case, the court extended his custodial interrogation till April one.

"There is no evidence to their(ED) claims that we have taken Rs 100 crore. The actual excise policy scam started after the beginning of the ED investigation and not when the policy was made." The investigation began in August 2022. The 2021-22 Delhi Excise Policy was later scrapped.

Kejriwal alleged that the ED probe had two main motives.

"The first was to crush the Aam Aadmi Party and to declare it corrupt."

"They wanted to form a smokescreen in front of the nation where they could declare the AAP as corrupt and the accused in the liquor excise policy scam and easily operate their electoral bond scam behind all of this. They were extorting huge funds in the name of electoral bonds."

Reacting to Kejriwal's allegations, ED officials said they were investigating the case under the lawful procedures of the PMLA and the agency has been duly filing charge sheets before the courts.

Extending the custodial interrogation of Kejriwal, the court said the ED had provided "sufficient reasons", such as the chief minister being required to be confronted with the material collected and recorded statements.

The federal probe agency in its fresh remand plea said during Kejriwal's custodial interrogation, his statements were recorded for over five days and he was 'giving evasive replies'.

The Delhi high court, meanwhile, rejected a PIL seeking the removal of Kejriwal from the chief minister's post and said it cannot declare breakdown of constitutional machinery in the capital.

Additional Solicitor General A S Raju, appearing for the ED, countered Kejriwal and his counsel saying, "Persons who have later named him have disclosed reasons to do so. It is in the papers. All these submissions have been made before the Delhi high court."

"He (Kejriwal) wants to play to the gallery by making the same submissions.

"He is the person in-charge of affairs of AAP. AAP has received the bribe amounts which was used in Goa elections. Those money we have witnesses to say that they came from hawala from South Group. There is a chain. He has selectively not talked about that chain," the ASG submitted.

The ED has alleged that Kejriwal received several crores of rupees as kickbacks from the 'South group' for formulating and implementing the 2021-22 Delhi Excise Policy.

The chief minister allegedly demanded Rs 100 crore from some accused from the 'South group' for contesting Assembly elections, Raju had alleged before the court last Friday.

"The next thing I want to ask is where has the money gone in this allegedly liquor policy scam? We (AAP) have been accused of recovering bribes worth Rs 100 crore from the so called 'South Lobby' in formulating the alleged liquor policy scam," Kejriwal submitted before the court.

Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta, appearing for the ED, said the right to arrest a chief minister is no different from an ordinary man.

"He doesn't get exonerated if he is a CM. Rs 100 crore was given through hawala from South group to Goa elections. There is a chain. It is used by AAP."

Kejriwal also countered in detail the statements made against him.

"So far CBI has filed 31,000 pages in this case in court and 294 witnesses have been examined in this case. ED has investigated 162 people and filed a 25,000-page report so far. By combining all these documents and reports, why I have been arrested? My name figures only in four statements," he said.

Claiming that only 30,000 pages were filed by the ED, he said, "there are more than one lakh pages in the ED office which can prove our innocence, and these evidences were not produced in the court by the ED."

When Kejriwal's submissions were initially objected to by ASG Raju, the chief minister said, "Raju sahab main aapse aashirwad chahta hu. Please mujhe bolne dein," evoking laughter from assembled people in the courtroom.