Kejriwal Swindled Rs. 2,026 Cr Through Liquor Scam Says CAG Report

Delhi/Hyderabad, Jan 11 (Maxim News): Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers allegedly swindled over Rs. 2,026 crores as the liquor excise police lacked transparency and thrived on illegal decision-making to benefit some favored licensees, said a Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report whose excerpts came into the public domain on Saturday.

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The document of the government’s auditor that has exposed the liquor scam is named, “Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Performance Audit on Regulation and Supply of liquor in Delhi.” 

The damning findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Girish Chandra Murmu, over the AAP government’s controversial liquor policy, come as a big setback to the ruling AAP ahead of the February 5 Assembly elections, giving fresh ammunition to the Opposition BJP and the Congress who have dubbed the scam “liquor-gate”.  “Responsibility and accountability should be fixed for the lapses observed and the enforcement mechanism should be strengthened said Murmu in his final recommendation in the report for the year ended March 31, 2022.  The report was also signed by the principal Accountant General (Aidit), Delhi, Aman Deep Chatha.

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The ruling AAP questioned the veracity of the ‘leaked’ CAG report and dismissed allegations of wrongdoing against kejriwal and his Cabinet ministers, including manish Sisida and Satyendra jain, who were arrested and lated granted bail in money laundering and corruption cases linked to the excise policy. 

The CAG report said the exchequer lost around Rs. 890 crore as the AAP government did not re-tender the surrendered retail liquor licences.  The government lost an additional Rs. 941 crore due to the exemptions that had to be given to the zonal licensees, the report said. 

The Group of Ministers, headed by Minister Manish Sisodia, allegedly did not act on the recommendation of the expoert panel and even allowed disqualified entities to bid for licences.  

The findings on alleged wrongdoings, due to which Kejriwal, Sisodia and many other government functionaries, faced money laundering and corruption cases, are sure to raise the political temperature in Delhi where the AAP is trying to come back to power for a fourth time. 

The elections for the 70 Assembly seats will be held on February 5 and the results will be declared on February 8.  in the current House, the AAp has 62 legislators and the BJP has 8.  (Maxim News)

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