BJP demands probe into liquor tragedy, assets of AAP leaders
The BJP on Monday urged Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to order a CBI probe into the Majitha spurious liquor tragedy and the “meteoric rise” in the assets of state AAP leaders.
A BJP delegation led by state party president Sunil Jakhar met the Governor and submitted a memorandum in this regard. The spurious liquor incident in Amritsar’s Majithia had claimed 27 lives.
In the memorandum, Jakhar sought a time-bound inquiry into AAP leaders’ alleged connections with the liquor mafia.
The BJP alleged that Bhagwant Mann-led AAP regime “harboured elements of the liquor mafia and profited from their criminal activities”.
Jakhar told mediapersons after the meeting that he demanded that the Amritsar hooch tragedy be included in the ambit of the CBI probe into the now-withdrawn Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and several AAP leaders, including the party’s Punjab affairs incharge Manish Sisodia, are currently out on bail in corruption cases linked to the Delhi policy.
Jakhar told reporters that several senior AAP leaders had already spent months in jail for allegedly receiving kickbacks to favour certain liquor contractors under the defunct Delhi policy.
The victims of the Majitha tragedy, mostly daily wagers, exhibited symptoms consistent with methanol poisoning. Methanol is a toxic chemical often used in the manufacturing of spurious liquor.
The BJP argued that the incident in a border district like Amritsar reflected the “incompetence and politicisation of the police force” under the current regime.
Among other demands, the BJP sought a probe into the “meteoric rise” in properties of MLAs, ministers and their relatives.
The party said quotas distributed under the 2022 liquor policy introduced by the AAP government should be examined.
The party also demanded a speedy investigation into the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi excise policy.
