ED summons 'illegal', BJP wants to stop me from campaigning: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the ED summonses issued to him were "illegal" and part of a political conspiracy to stop him from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

He alleged that the entire exercise of serving him summons was being carried out to arrest him before the high-octane polls, expected in April-May.

The chief minister said he was issued a summons by the Enforcement Directorate last week for the fourth time, and asked him to appear before the agency on January 18 or January 19.

"The BJP is running the ED. They only intend to arrest me so that I cannot campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," he said.

Kejriwal said he had sent his reply to the central agency.

"The four notices sent me are illegal in the eyes of the law. Such general, non-specific notices have been quashed in the past by the courts. I have repeatedly written to the ED saying the notices are illegal but they have not replied to me," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

Alleging that the notices are being sent under a "political conspiracy", he said the probe into the excise policy case has been going on for two years but "nothing" has been found yet.

"False statements are being extracted out of people by beating them," he said.