New Delhi, February 27 (IANS). The Rouse Avenue court in the national capital on Friday acquitted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal and his close aide Manish Sisodia along with 23 others in the excise policy case. This matter is also called liquor policy scam.
In this case, Kejriwal and Sisodia have been acquitted despite being in jail for months. After being acquitted by the court, Aam Aadmi Party and India Alliance accused BJP of using central agencies for political gains. Arvind Kejriwal alleges that BJP had conspired against him to form the government in Delhi.
Now they also know how all this started. The Aam Aadmi Party government had formulated the Delhi Excise Policy in November 2021 to bring reforms and structural changes in the liquor trade and its regulation in the national capital. Within a few months of its implementation, the policy was embroiled in controversy when the BJP accused the Aam Aadmi Party government of colluding with the liquor mafia to fill its coffers. The Delhi government canceled this policy in 2022 amid a round of allegations and counter-allegations.
In July 2022, the then Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar submitted a report to Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena, after which a case was registered. The case pointed to several ‘procedural lapses and shortcomings’ in policy making.
The report submitted to the Lieutenant Governor mentioned several arbitrary and unilateral decisions taken by then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and claimed that it resulted in a financial loss of over Rs 500 crore to the exchequer.
The controversy-ridden Kejriwal government rejected allegations of irregularities and collusion, claiming that the step was taken to improve customer experience and crack down on the black market of liquor, but, the report submitted to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi mentioned kickbacks and illegal kickbacks received from liquor traders by the Aam Aadmi Party government and leaders. It was alleged that rebates and waivers worth hundreds of crores of rupees were given on license fees.
Based on information of ‘serious violations’, the Lieutenant Governor recommended a CBI inquiry. The CBI, in its investigation, accused Manish Sisodia and other Aam Aadmi Party leaders of several serious violations, including manipulating the liquor policy to benefit wholesalers, and later arrested them. The CBI claimed that several liquor companies (including those from southern states) paid bribes worth Rs 100 crore to Aam Aadmi Party leaders.
The CBI claimed that this money was used for the party’s election campaign in Goa and Punjab ahead of the assembly elections to be held in 2022. After this the issue turned into a major controversy, in which the BJP accused the Kejriwal government of looting the exchequer to fulfill the party’s political ambitions, while Kejriwal vehemently denied these allegations and accused the Central government of taking vindictive action against the Aam Aadmi Party.
When charges were framed, Arvind Kejriwal’s name was included in the CBI charge sheet as the key conspirator. Kejriwal was directly accused of making controversial policies and embezzling the proceeds of crime. The then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also held the portfolio of Excise Minister, was accused of taking ‘arbitrary and unilateral decisions’ to benefit private liquor traders.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Kejriwal on 21 March 2024. After this, on June 26, 2024, CBI also arrested him in the same case.
–IANS
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