AAP trying to distract from excise scam: BJP

BJP said the alleged scam in the excise policy is not limited to AAP leader Manish Sisodia, but also extends to Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann.

New Delhi The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said that the Aam Aadmi Party and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal are questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational qualifications to divert attention from the alleged irregularities in Delhi’s excise policy 2021-22

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann. (PTI)

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the alleged scam in the excise policy is not limited to AAP leader Manish Sisodia — arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in separate cases in connection with alleged irregularities in the policy —but also extends to Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann.

“Under the garb of seeking the details of the PM’s educational degrees, Kejriwal is trying to divert attention from the excise scam committed by Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia. A Delhi court has confirmed that the excise scam was not linked only to an individual but the entire institution was involved in the process, right from the commissioner to the group of ministers to the Delhi cabinet. An attempt to obstruct the investigation is being done by the government. If no corruption was committed, then why did the AAP government scrap the policy and switch back to the old policy?” Poonawala said at a press conference.

“The excise scam in which Sisodia is in jail, has links with Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann… The court has said that Manish Sisodia is the architect of the excise scam. The AAP says Sisodia is hardcore honest,” he said.

Separately, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed Kejriwal tricked Sisodia and former minister Satyendar Jain into signing fraudulent deals due to which they are in jail today.

The AAP did not comment on the BJP’s allegations, but several party leaders urged the PM to share his educational degrees. Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the BJP should first answer questions on the PM’s degree and should then discuss the excise policy.

The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business by replacing 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 policy also introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor, a first for Delhi.

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, with the AAP alleging that Saxena’s predecessor sabotaged the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.

Sisodia, who held the excise portfolio, was initially arrested by CBI on February 26 in connection with the case and was sent to Tihar jail by the Rouse Avenue court. He was then arrested by ED on March 9 in connection with a separate case related to the excise policy, after he was interrogated for more than nine hours. After his ED custody ended, a Delhi court sent him back to Tihar jail on March 22, where he is currently lodged.