Delhi BJP chief: AAP introduced new excise policy to benefit liquor mafia

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said that the CBI raids at Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the national capital along with other places in the country were proof that the Aam Aadmi Party government had introduced the revamped Excise Policy to benefit the liquor mafia.

The chief of the Delhi unit of the BJP, Adesh Gupta slammed the AAP government for introducing the Excise Policy at a time when Covid was at its peak, alleging that the move was done ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections.

“They were not bothered about Covid but their sole focus was on bringing a new excise policy. They waived off Rs144 crore and gave the contracts to blacklisted companies instead of using the money for Covid relief,” said Gupta.

“The policy’s benefits to liquor mafia were seen when they favoured thousands of crores to the liquor mafia, when they increased their commission from 2.5 per cent to 12 per cent, when the number of dry days in Delhi was reduced from 21 to three,” the BJP leader said.

According to a CBI official, searches were conducted in seven States and a Union Territory, including the premises of fomer Delhi Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna under whose tenure, the revamped Excise Policy was approved.

Sisodia had in a tweet this morning said that CBI officials had arrived at his residence and had begun searches. “CBI has arrived. We are honest, building a future for lakhs of children. Unfortunate that in this country, whoever does good work is hassled just like this, that is why our country is still not number-1,” the deputy chief minister tweeted.

To this Adesh Gupta hit back and asked whether Sisodia could tell whose future he was talking about when he says he works for children. “Will he tell that he talks about the children for whom he has reduced the age of liquor consumption from 21 to 18?” Gupta alleged.

“Did he come to power to ensure an equal distribution of alcohol by working to bring an excise policy that would monetarily benefit only liquor mafia with illegitimate ways,” the BJP leader said.

Earlier today, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted: “CBI is welcome. We will give full cooperation. Searches took place earlier too, but nothing was found. Nothing will be found now too.”

The Delhi CM stated that CBI has raided Sisodia’s residence on the day when the picture of the Delhi Model and Sisodia appeared on the front page of America’s biggest newspaper- New York Times.

Mewnwhile, the BJP Delhi unit chief attacked the “Delhi Model” by wondering if AAP came to power to benefit the liquor mafia.

“They initially claimed that the excise policy was a beneficial move, but they rolled it back after the CBI raids. Delhi government has spent crores of money on liquor mafia that could have been used in other productive areas and call it its Delhi Model,” Gupta said.

On July 30, Sisodia announced a rollback of the Excise Policy stating that only government outlets would sell liquor in Delhi from August 1.