NEW DELHI: Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi on Friday sought full details on the matter after Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended a CBI investigation into the alleged violations of the Arvind Kejriwal-led government’s new excise policy including “gross procedural lapses” by Deputy CM Manish Sisodia to provide undue benefits to liquor licensees.
A July 8 report by the Chief Secretary established prima facie violations of GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR) 1993, Delhi Excise Act 2009, and Delhi Excise Rules 2010. The new Delhi Excise policy 2021-22 was implemented in November last year.
The report indicates substantively financial quid pro quo at the top political level and that the Delhi excise policy was implemented with the sole aim of benefitting private liquor barons for financial benefits to individuals at the highest rungs of the government leading up to Manish Sisodia, who is also in charge of the excise department.
Sisodia took and got executed, major decisions/actions in violation of the statutory provisions and the notified Excise Policy that had huge financial implications, officials at the LG office said. The LG office said that Sisodia also extended “undue financial favours” to the liquor licensees much after the tenders had been awarded and thus caused huge losses to the exchequer.
Sisodia’s role is under the scanner for alleged deliberate and gross procedural lapses which provided undue benefits to the tender process for liquor licensees for the year 2021-22, officials in the Lieutenant-Governor’s office told ANI.
“Kejriwal ji should give full details of this scam on the basis of facts,” Union Minister Lekhi said at a press briefing today. She further questioned why the Delhi government hurried to sign the papers without setting the agenda for the excise policy.
“Before you give yourself a certificate of integrity, you have to be honest. Not answering the questions will not work, because in a democracy questions are asked and it is necessary to answer them,” Lekhi said on CM Kejriwal.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal rubbished the “false” allegations and alleged that the central government could not bear to see the expansion of the Aam-Aadmi Party. “They cannot bear to see us rise to a national level and thus are resorting to such measures. But nothing will stop us,” he said adding that he is neither “scared of jails, nor scared of the noose” Kejriwal said.
AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj told reporters the CBI investigation has been ordered at the behest of the central government. Bharadwaj lashed out at the Central government saying that the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were jealous of the rising popularity of AAP across the country and would do anything to stop them. (ANI)