Dubious elements being used to malign Sisodia in Delhi excise policy: AAP

The ED has claimed that Sisodia received kickbacks worth ₹2.2 crore from Amit Arora to favour the latter in the now-scrapped excise policy

With a Delhi court taking cognisance of a May 4 charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, the Aam Aadmi Party has said that there are inconsistencies in the claims made by the central agency against its leader Manish Sisodia, and said that the accusations are based on the statement of businessman Amit Arora, citing which the ED had prepared the charge sheet.

On February 26, CBI arrested Manish Sisodia in connection with the case, and the AAP leader was arrested by ED after a nine-hour long interrogation on March 9. (PTI)

ED has claimed that Sisodia received kickbacks worth ₹2.2 crore through his close aide Dinesh Arora from Amit Arora to favour the latter in the now-scrapped excise policy. The charge sheet also has several references to AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh.

The court took cognisance of the charge sheet on Tuesday.

Hitting back, Singh raised doubts on Amit Arora’s statements, and said that his (Singh’s) name appeared after the ED was forced to apologise in court for erroneously mentioning his name in a previous charge sheet in connection with the excise case.

“How come Amit Arora (owner of Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd and himself an accused in the case) did not take my name in any of his previous statements? How is it that when I made the ED apologise to me, my name suddenly appeared in a statement? …this is a clear conspiracy, Amit Arora first fought on a BJP ticket, then he got a sting done on himself, now he has been made to give a statement against me,” Singh said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Singh did not clarify which elections Amit Arora had contested.

The MP further claimed that his name did not appear in the first 10 statements that Amit Arora made to the central agency, but mentioned his name in the 11th. He said, “The individual making these statements contradicts himself by claiming that the policy in question never materialised. Furthermore, he conveniently omits mentioning my name in his ten previous statements to the ED, only to suddenly implicate me in the eleventh. This is the same person who resorts to orchestrating fake stings on himself so that the BJP can conduct press conferences to amplify their propaganda. Despite strong denials from another individual, who was allegedly present at the meeting, my associates were subjected to unwarranted raids solely based on Amit Arora’s dubious statement. This highlights the blatant misuse of power and the deplorable tactics employed against those who dare to speak out against the BJP.”

The BJP did not respond to the allegations.

The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business. It aimed to replace a sales-volume based regime with a licence fee-based one for traders, and promised swankier stores, free of the infamous metal grilles, ultimately giving customers a better buying experience.

The plan, however, came to an abrupt end, with lieutenant governor VK Saxena recommending a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the regime. This ultimately resulted in the policy being scrapped prematurely and being replaced by the 2020-21 regime.

On February 26, CBI arrested Sisodia in connection with the case, and the AAP leader was arrested by ED after a nine-hour long interrogation on March 9.

ED has so far filed five charge sheets in the case.