NEW DELHI: This newspaper’s story hit the bull’s eye on Friday with the CBI registering an FIR against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and raiding his residence to collect more evidence in a case where the state government is alleged to have “extended wrongful gains and favour to liquor wholesalers in Delhi… at the cost of state’s revenue”.
This paper was the first to break the story on June 22 that the CBI would look into the Kejriwal government’s new excise policy 2021-22 which appeared customised to benefit a few big players.
While drafting the policy, the government ignored the recommendations of its own panel of experts headed by Ravi Dhawan, which was set up to offer advice on the best practices.
After a deep dive into the policy papers, this paper mailed Sisodia 10 questions. He did not answer any. Instead, a reply was sent by the AAP, which rejected all allegations of wrongdoing and said they were orchestrated by the BJP to defame the Kejriwal government.
Even today, the AAP ecosystem is refusing to talk about the policy. Instead, Kejriwal said the raids were aimed at countering Sisodia’s popularity in the education sector, which got him a front page mention in The New York Times.
The AAP machinery tried to give a political twist to the CBI FIR and the raids. While the CBI took its time to register the FIR, the Lt Governor of Delhi ordered a probe by the state vigilance department. The Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police, too, initiated a probe.
The vigilance probe concluded that prima facie Sisodia was involved in tweaking policy without the approval of the state Cabinet and the LG. The questions this paper sent Sisodia on June 14 remain at the core of the controversy.
Here is their abridged version:
