SAD leader Majithia seeks CBI probe in Punjab excise policy

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Monday demanded that the CBI inquiry into the Delhi excise scam be extended to Punjab.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Monday demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the Delhi excise scam be extended to Punjab, as according to him, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, was also the “architect of the new Punjab excise policy which had caused losses of hundreds of crore rupees to the state exchequer.”

According to Majithia , Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, was also the “architect of the new Punjab excise policy which had caused losses of hundreds of crore rupees to the state exchequer”. (PTI FILE PHOTO)

Addressing a press conference here, Majithia said: “the people behind Punjab’s excise policy are the same as in case of Delhi. As in the case of Delhi, the CBI should also probe the role of senior officers and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders in Punjab who had colluded to give huge benefits to select liquor manufacturers like Deep Malhotra”.

He said a separate Enforcement Directorate inquiry should also be conducted to go into assertions of money laundering.

Asserting large scale corruption in the Punjab excise policy, Majithia said like in the case of Delhi, the entire liquor trade had been handed over to two companies and their profit margin had been doubled to facilitate a quid pro quo.

“Hundreds of crores have been passed back to the AAP government in Punjab and the AAP high command in Delhi. It is this ill gotten money from the liquor as well as the sand mining mafia which is being used by AAP to fulfil Arvind Kejriwal’s national electoral dreams,” alleged Majithia.