ED charge sheet in excise case: Vaishnaw questions Kejriwal’s career, AAP calls it ‘BJP plot’

In the charge sheet, ED has claimed that Kejriwal directly used part of the ₹100 crore “kickbacks” for his stay at a luxury hotel in Goa

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday hit out at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, claiming his role in the alleged liquor scam has raised a question mark on his entire political career.

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Commenting on the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy case, the union minister said: “The liquor scam by Kejriwal has raised a question mark on his political career. The Congress too has joined them in the scam. The Congress and AAP have formed an alliance of the corrupt to loot Delhi.”

In the charge sheet, ED has claimed that Kejriwal directly used part of the ₹100 crore “kickbacks” for his stay at a luxury hotel in Goa.

Vaishnaw said that all Delhi residents were fed up with the manner in which the AAP and Kejriwal have spread “anarchy” in the national capital with their “dishonesty”.

“They made tall promises about removing mountains of trash and cleaning up Delhi, but haven’t fulfilled a single promise. They could not ensure water supply to Delhi, but had their complete focus on liquor,” Vaishnaw said.

The union minister said Kejriwal used to claim there was no evidence to prove the allegations of kickbacks in the excise policy scam, but the ED has placed the entire evidence before courts.

In a press conference on Thursday, North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari also hit out at the AAP government in Delhi.

“Till now, individuals or groups of individuals were involved in scandals and scams. History has been made in Delhi, with an entire political party (AAP) charged by the ED in the liquor excise policy case,” he said, citing ED’s mention of AAP as the key beneficiary in the charge sheet.

“I am here to awaken Aravind Kejriwal’s consciousness towards a statement he made regarding resigning from office even if the slightest allegation was made against him. Now that he has been charged for the scam, the people of Delhi are waiting for his resignation,” Tiwari said.

AAP national general secretary Sandeep Pathak said the ED’s charge sheet is part of the BJP’s agenda and the ED does not have any evidence against AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal. He said that the move is aimed at keeping him (Kejriwal) in jail and stopping the work of Kejriwal government.

“The ED has just filed the 7th supplementary charge sheet in the so-called liquor scam hatched by the BJP. After conducting raids at thousands of places in two years of investigation… They have named Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party as accused. In PMLA, unless the proceeds of crime are found and it is established where the money came from and where it was spent, a case cannot be made. There is no evidence of this,” Pathak said in a press conference at AAP’s headquarters.

The AAP leader said that on June 20, a PMLA special court gave its order “very clearly” on all the issues highlighted in the charge sheet.

“It is very clearly written in the court order that nothing has been found in the proceeds of the crime, not even a single rupee has been recovered from them. Secondly, where was the money used? It is repeatedly said that the money was used in Goa. In paragraph 26 of the court order, it is very clearly written that this is also noticeable that ED is silent about the fact as to how the proceeds of the crime have been utilised in assembly elections of Goa by AAP,” Pathak said.