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Excise policy ‘best’, says Delhi deputy CM Sisodia as BJP pins blame on Kejriwal
On Friday, Manish Sisodia, who also handles the Delhi government's excise department, was raided by the CBI.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday called Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal the “kingpin” of a “liquor scam” in the national capital, even as deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who has been named an accused in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, said the onslaught was a result of the BJP politically fearing the Aam Aadmi Party’s national gains.
The Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 was the “best” of its kind and would have earned ₹10,000 crore every year had the former lieutenant governor not been “asked” to change his decision at the last minute, Sisodia said on Saturday.
The central agency on Friday carried out searches at Sisodia’s residence and at several other locations, a month after Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended an investigation into the AAP government’s effort to bring in a new excise policy, citing a report from the chief secretary that alleged rules were ignored in the drafting of the policy.
On Saturday, the CBI recorded the statements of a few private individuals as it began questioning in the alleged corruption case related to the implementation of the excise policy, an official said. The agency’s FIR names 15 people, including Sisodia. The agency is also examining the documents seized during raids at 31 places including Sisodia’s residence, the official said, asking not to be named.
Union minister and BJP leader Anurag Thakur held a press conference on Saturday afternoon and said the AAP should not try to divert attention from the excise scam by raising other issues as its “real face has been unmasked”.
Taking a dig at Sisodia, Thakur referred to him as “Money Shh”, alleging that he makes money and maintains silence. He was flanked by Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta and Lok Sabha member Manoj Tiwari.
Also Read: Anurag Thakur's 'Money Shh' jibe at Manish Sisodia, 'bevdi ki bhi hai' at AAP
Earlier in the day, Sisodia said that the 2024 polls will be a battle between Kejriwal and Narendra Modi who he alleged was using all means, including the probe agencies against the party leaders, to scare the AAP chief.
Also Read: Day after CBI raids, Manish Sisodia says 2024 polls will be Modi Vs Kejriwal
Responding to the allegation, Thakur said the AAP made tall claims ahead of a number of elections but could not stand before Modi, and added that it could not even open its account in the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Sisodia, who is also the excise, education and finance minister in the Delhi government, steered the 2021-22 excise policy introduced in November 2021. The policy overhauled the Capital’s liquor market and fetched the state government ₹8,919.59 crore, close to 27% more than the base price set for licence bids. It was aimed at making the process of purchasing liquor more consumer-friendly.
In its FIR, filed on Wednesday, CBI claimed that Manish Sisodia, along with others, was “actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licencees to the public servants”.
The federal agency did not name the people who were questioned in the case on Saturday but an officer said Sisodia and excise department officials will soon be called in for questioning.
A day after the CBI raid against him, Sisodia, at a press conference, expressed apprehension that the agency or the Enforcement Directorate may arrest him in the next 3-4 days, and alleged that it was part of the “script to stop Kejriwal who has emerged as a national alternative”.
Chief minister Kejriwal announced on Twitter that he will be touring Gujarat with Sisodia from Monday.
Sisodia is facing the prospect of multiple probes as the CBI FIR has been shared with ED, which may look into the allegations of money laundering, an official said, asking not to be named.
The ministry of corporate affairs is looking into a host of corporate entities associated with those named in the FIR, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
“The 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be a battle between Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It will be AAP vs BJP,” Sisodia told reporters, alleging that the raids were aimed at stopping AAP chief Kejriwal’s rise.
The Delhi deputy CM said the BJP was not concerned about corruption but was targeting Kejriwal, whose work on education and health was being talked about in the world, and that is why Satyendar Jain was arrested by the ED in May.
Dismissing the charge, Thakur said: “Sisodia is the accused number one in the case but Kejriwal is the kingpin behind the scam.”
“It is a government of revdi (freebies) and it is also a bevdi (drunkards) government,” he alleged and asked why it returned over ₹144 crore to liquor companies without the Cabinet’s approval.
Why was the excise policy withdrawn if it was correct as claimed by the AAP and why some “blacklisted” firms were given the liquor licence, he asked.
Thakur said Kejriwal’s “left hand” Satyendar Jain was already in jail on corruption charges and his “right hand” Sisodia was facing serious charges. The party which, would make big claims against corruption, is now immersed in it from Delhi to Punjab, he alleged.
Delhi’s health minister Jain was arrested in May by the Enforcement Directorate on money laundering charges.
Delhi Congress leaders and workers, meanwhile, staged a protest outside the AAP office in New Delhi, demanding the resignation of Sisodia.
The protesters marched from the Delhi Congress office at DDU Marg towards AAP headquarters, raising slogans against Kejriwal and Sisodia.
Sisodia said rival parties were “scared of Kejriwal who has gained the love of people, especially after the party’s victory in Punjab assembly elections”.
Sisodia also highlighted a front-page story in The New York Times on Delhi’s education model, saying it made every Indian proud. After the CBI raids, the AAP leaders claimed that the Modi government was rattled by the report that “praised” the Delhi government.
With inputs from PTI
