NEW DELHI: Former president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa recently filed a complaint with the CBI accusing the Delhi state government of implementing an excise policy that “extended wrongful gains and favour to liquor wholesalers in Delhi… at the cost of state’s revenue”.
Sirsa sought a probe against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who was the head of the Group of Ministers that drafted the new excise policy, and some government officials “who have customized and enacted the policy to reap wrongful gains”.
He said “the policy has been drafted and implemented with the following persons acting as aide: Mr Manoj Rai, Mr Manish Sosodia, Mr K Gehlot, Mr Satyendra Jain, Mr Arava Gopi Krishna and several other unknown ministers in connivance with one Mr Dinesh Arora and Mr Vijay Nair, who have been actively involved in layering…” the deal.
In his complaint on June 7, Sirsa also accused Sisodia of holding a meeting at his Delhi residence on 30.05.22 with Punjab excise and taxation officials to draft a similar policy for Punjab. Sirsa said the meeting at Sisodia’s residence was attended by Varun Runjan, excise and taxation commissioner, Punjab, Kap Sinha, financial commissioner, taxation, Punjab, Naresh Dubey, Vijay Nair, AAP Member of Parliament Raghav Chadha and Punjab excise minister Harpal Cheema.
Sisodia did not respond to a detailed questionnaire sent to him by this newspaper on June 14. On June 20, however, a response, purportedly to the questionnaire, was received on WhatsApp by this correspondent from Pritam Pal Singh, Media Communication Advisor to Chief Minister of the Government of the National Capital Territory, Delhi.
The response read as follows: “Aam Aadmi Party’s response All the allegations leveled herein are completely baseless and politically motivated. Delhi government’s new excise policy increased tax revenue by over Rs 3,000 crore in just one year. This money was earlier going into the pocket of BJP leaders who were controlling the liquor mafia across Delhi. Seeing their illicit income be (sic) stopped, the BJP is making huge hue and cry.”
Wholesalers get big say
The Kejriwal govt’s new excise policy in Delhi withdrew four state govt corporations from liquor business, puting the liquor trade in the hands of private players and giving leverage to wholesalers | P9