Unaware of Goa election campaign: Kailash Gahlot after ED interrogation
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kailash Gahlot said he was questioned for nearly 5.5 hours by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after leaving the probe agency's office on Saturday. The transport and environment minister of Delhi was summoned by the ED earlier in the day for questioning in an alleged money laundering case linked to the Delhi liquor policy. Following the session, Gahlot told the media that he answered all the questions that were posed to him.
Gahlot shares details of ED questioning
He also addressed the allegations by the ED that he allowed then-AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair to use his official residence when the liquor policy was being drafted. "The government bungalow was allotted to me in Civil Lines, but I have always stayed in my private residence in Vasant Kunj because my wife and kids didn't want to move from there. Nair was living in the bungalow allotted to me," he said.
Check out Gahlot's interaction with the media
AAP Goa leader also summoned by ED
On Thursday, the agency also summoned AAP's Goa unit chief, Amit Palekar, and three others in the money laundering case. This was in relation to the allegations by the ED that the AAP used kickbacks it received from the "South Group" to fund Goa assembly election campaigns. The ED claimed that members of the "South Group" paid bribes to exploit loopholes in the excise policy to gain unrestricted access to wholesale enterprises and retail zones, in violation of the rules.
ED accuses AAP of using 'proceeds of crime'
The "proceeds of crime," estimated at Rs. 45 crore, were then used for the AAP's Goa election campaign in 2022, the ED alleged. This sum is allegedly part of a larger Rs. 100 crore "bribe" involving Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha. During his interaction with the media on Saturday, Gahlot distanced himself from the Goa election campaign, saying, "I have never been part of the Goa election campaign, and I am unaware of what happened."
Top AAP leaders arrested in the case
Top AAP leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Minister Satyendar Jain, are already in jail in the liquor policy case. Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 after his name appeared on several chargesheets filed by the central agency. He has been accused of being a "kingpin" and a "key conspirator" in the case.
