NEW DELHI: The Congress intensified its attack on the AAP on Thursday. The party dubbed AAP as “Alcohol Affected Party” and accused it of accepting money from liquor companies to fund its election campaigns and political activities.
The party alleged that the AAP leadership, including former CM Arvind Kejriwal, was involved in a multi-state liquor scam spanning from Delhi to Hyderabad.
Delhi Congress leaders released an audio clip allegedly featuring AAP’s Narela MLA Sharad Chauhan’s voice. In the clip, Chauhan purportedly opposed the now-withdrawn excise policy during a conversation with former deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the clip revealed Chauhan raising objections to the policy, only for Sisodia to respond that the excise policy was necessary to generate funds for elections in Gujarat, Goa, and Punjab.
Chauhan was also heard saying that funds for Delhi elections were coming from Punjab, he added.
“Delhi voters no longer trust someone who managed a liquor scam to provide education to their children. Alcohol addiction harms families, and the greed to earn money through alcohol sales has devastated lives. AAP has tarnished Delhi’s world-class infrastructure,” Khera stated.
Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav reiterated that the Congress was the first to expose the Rs 2,000 crore liquor scam and file an FIR that led to the arrest of AAP leaders. He claimed the scam provided money-making opportunities to AAP’s close associates.
Yadav also alleged that youth and men had fallen into addiction due to these policies, claiming that at one point, the government offered “two free bottles of liquor with the purchase of one.”