CHANDIGARH: After the arrest of AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the ED in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, the shadow of the excise case might also fall on Punjab’s new excise policy as the same has been implemented in the state.
Besides uneasiness and fear in the political and administrative circles, Punjab BJP has decided to approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) and seek an ED probe into the state’s excise policy, which it claimedwas tailored in lines with the one in Delhi.
Punjab Excise and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that he was ready toface any probe. “It is a good policy and our revenue from excise duties has increased by Rs 4,000 crore in just two years. We have managed to finish off the liquor mafia in the state,” he said.
Sources claimed that in the past, the central agencies have questioned three IAS officers and about a dozen other officials of the state regarding the Punjab excise policy which is under the scanner after reports of allotment of wholesale liquor licences to two Delhi-based companies for IMFL and ‘Bottled in Origin’ (BIO) liquor had come out. The two companies are under the scanner for their role in the Delhi excise policy and been appointed as L1 licencees for IMFLand BIO liquor.