Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 19: Alleging irregularities in Delhi’s excise policy 2021-22, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed an FIR against 15 persons with the first accused being Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia who has been accused of corruption linked to his new liquor policy.
The FIR was filed after the CBI raided 20 places in seven states across the country including the residence of Sisodia, who holds the excise portfolio. Among the 15 accused are also three government officers including the then Excise Commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari, and Assistant Commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar.
The new liquor policy was introduced in November, last year, but was scrapped last month after the lieutenant governor VK Saxena ordered the CBI probe into the allegations of corruption. The charges listed in the 11-page document are criminal conspiracy and falsification.
It was alleged that under the new liquor policy, the commission for liquor vendors was raised from two per cent to 12 per cent and was restored back to two per cent when the new policy was dumped. It was also alleged that half of the raised liquor commission was collected in cash from the vendors as contributions to the Aam Aadmi Party Fund.
The FIR said Sisodia and the others were “instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to excise policy for the year 2021-22 without approval of competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licencees post tender.”
Taking the CBI raid on Sisodia’s house as a “political vendetta” of the BJP government at the centre and “panic reaction” of the prime minister Narendra Modi worried over the growing popularity of AAP and its main leader Arvind Kejriwal in providing corruption-free administration. It said Sisodia was being targeted because the centre was furious at the praise, at home and abroad, for his education model, which was also featured on the front page of the New York Times on Thursday.
Sources said the agency officials seized confidential official files relating to the new excise policy from the home of a public servant. The location of the seizure is yet to be revealed. No cash recovery has been made so far. The searches are expected to continue.
Lieutenant Governor Saxena had recommended a CBI probe last month after a report from the Delhi Chief Secretary alleging irregularities in Delhi’s new liquor policy. Under the policy launched in November, liquor shop licenses were handed over to private players.
Sisodia has claimed that the new policy was meant to tackle corruption in government liquor outlets. The Centre, he said, was troubled by the “excellent work done by the Delhi government in the health and education sector” and that is why ministers of both departments were targeted. Health minister Satyendar Jain has been in jail since May following an Enforcement Directorate raid.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the CBI landed at Sisodia’s doorstep “the day the Delhi education model was praised” and Sisodia’s picture landed on the front page of New York Times. “There have been raids in the past too, but nothing came out, and nothing will come out this time,” he said.
BJP minister Anurag Thakur said the fear of a CBI probe had compelled Kejriwal and Sisodia to link the CBI raids to their work in the education sector. “The corruption in excise policy has revealed the true face of Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia,” Thakur said.
The BJP also alleged that the article in the New York Times praising Delhi’s education model was a “paid news” which was refuted by the AAP. “I challenge them, use whatever money you have, whatever power you have. You try and get an article published in New York Times if you think that is possible,” AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj said. The pushback followed tweets by several BJP leaders accusing AAP of paying the New York Times to spotlight Mr Sisodia.
Another AAP leader, Raghav Chadha, called the claim laughable. “No news of any BJP leader was ever printed there. BJP calls itself the biggest party in the world. It’s the richest political party. They should appear on New York Times’ front page daily if someone can buy them,” Chadha tweeted.
The Congress gave a guarded reaction to the CBI raids on Sisodia. “The flip side to relentless misuse of agencies against political rivals is that even legitimate, rightful actions of agencies come under a cloud of suspicion,” tweeted Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera.
The Lieutenant Governor has accused the AAP government of bringing the Excise policy “with the sole aim” of benefiting private liquor barons. “Individuals at the highest echelons of the government leading up to Manish Sisodia” were involved, he had alleged.
Saxena recommended CBI probe citing an assessment report of the “Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22” involving alleged violations and procedural lapses. It was suspected that the policy led to a loss of over ₹150 crore to the exchequer.