In yet another piece of bad news 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 CM in a money laundering case. The case is linked to the 2021 liquor policy. The Home Ministry, sources have said, has also approved the agency’s prosecution push in the case against senior AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

This has happened after a Supreme Court ruling in November that said the Enforcement Directorate would need prior sanction like the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute public servants. While the ED has said Kejriwal was the mastermind of alleged irregularities in the liquor policy case that has now been scraped, the framing of charges was pending in a Delhi court since it did not have the clearance. The fresh development has now removed that impediment.

The two leaders are now campaigning for the Delhi assembly polls to be held on February 5. Kejriwal has said he would be filing 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 AAP whether that would pay off remains to be seen.

Weeks after the top court ruling, 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 ED did not have the sanction to prosecute him.

Kejriwal and Sisodia were arrested in money laundering cases linked to the Delhi liquor policy. Both are currently out on bail. Kejriwal and Sisodia have said that the charges against them are motivated and have accused the BJP of using probe agencies to harass political opponents.