AAP chief acted as ‘middleman for liquor lobby’, says Sachdeva

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, MPs Manoj Tiwari and Praveen Khandelwal in a joint press conference on Tuesday welcomed the tabling of the CAG report in the Delhi Assembly. The BJP leaders criticised AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and his government, accusing them of corruption and mismanagement in the implementation of the excise policy.

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Sachdeva said: “The truth about the loot, corruption and politics of lies that Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Atishi Marlena had been trying to hide for the past 10 years has now come to light.”

He further said Kejriwal acted as a “middleman for the liquor lobby”. According to the CAG report, the liquor scam caused a massive revenue loss of Rs 2,002.68 crore, with an additional Rs 941.53 crore lost due to non-opening of liquor stores in non-conforming wards.

He also pointed to other financial mismanagements, including Rs 890 crore lost due to the failure to re-tender surrendered licenses and Rs 144 crore waived off for zonal licensees on the pretext of Covid-19 relief.

“Rules were violated in license distribution, and wholesale licences were given to those linked with retail and manufacturing companies, leading to a corrupt supply chain,” Sachdeva added.

MP Manoj Tiwari criticised the scale of the scam, saying, “Lalu Yadav was sentenced for a scam worth only Rs 214 crore, but the liquor scam in Delhi is 10 times bigger than that.” He accused Kejriwal of bypassing regulations to implement the controversial excise policy.

“This report has reignited hope for an end to corruption in Delhi,” Tiwari stated, calling for severe punishment for those involved in the scam.

Praveen Khandelwal, a BJP leader and prominent businessman, slammed the AAP government for its alleged role in the widespread corruption. “Delhi has been ruthlessly looted for the past 10 years, making it clear that not just a part, but the entire system was corrupt,” Khandelwal said.

He pointed out that the excise policy led to monopolies, with a single applicant allowed to operate 54 liquor shops, in violation of earlier limits.

Khandelwal further criticised the government for failing to establish quality control labs and issuing licences without proper quality checks. “Around 51 per cent of foreign liquor testing reports were outdated, missing or undated,” he revealed, stressing the need for thorough investigations into the matter.