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In fresh trouble for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal ahead of Delhi election, the Union Home Ministry has given the go-ahead to the Enforcement Directorate to prosecute the former Chief Minister in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped liquor policy. The Home Ministry, sources have said, has also okayed the agency's prosecution push in the case against senior AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
This comes months after a Supreme Court ruling in November which said the Enforcement Directorate would need prior sanction like the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute public servants. While the ED has said Mr Kejriwal was the mastermind of alleged irregularities in the Delhi liquor policy case, the framing of charges was pending in a Delhi court since it did not have the clearance. The fresh development has now removed that obstacle.
Weeks after the top court ruling, Mr Kejriwal had approached the Delhi High Court to challenge the trial court's decision to take note of the chargesheet against him. He had said the Enforcement Directorate did not have the sanction to prosecute him.
Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia were arrested in money laundering cases linked to the Delhi liquor policy and are currently out on bail. Both leaders have trashed the charges against them and have accused the BJP of using probe agencies to harass political rivals.
The two leaders are now campaigning for the February 5 election in the national capital. Mr Kejriwal filed his nomination today to contest the election from the New Delhi constituency. Politically, the fresh development is likely to sharpen the BJP's attacks on the ruling AAP in the run-up to the election.