The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has made a big revelation regarding the liquor policy of the Delhi government. According to the report, due to this liquor policy of Arvind Kejriwal government, Delhi government suffered a huge loss of Rs 2026 crore. The policy was implemented in November 2021 and was aimed at increasing revenue through liquor sales and improving the system. However, the report found it to be full of corruption, irregularities and full of commission It has been told. In this matter, many big leaders including Manish Sisodia, Arvind Kejriwal had to go to jail, because the case of money laundering of money collected from liquor scam had also come to light.
CAG’s Report It has been said that rules were violated in issuing licenses of liquor shops. Licenses were given to many companies which were incurring losses or against which there were complaints. Instead of punishing those who broke the rules, they were given immunity. Report It was said that many important decisions of liquor policy were taken without the approval of the Cabinet and the Lieutenant Governor.
Not only this, during the Delhi Liquor Policy scam, decisions were taken arbitrarily by ignoring the recommendations of the expert panel. Unfair agreements were reached between licensees and wholesalers. The government waived off license fees worth Rs 144 crore in the name of Covid-19, even though there was no need to do so.
CAG said in its analysis that there were losses on many fronts under the liquor policy. In this-
- Licenses were withdrawn, but not re-tendered, resulting in a loss of ₹890 crore.
- The rebate given to zonal licensees resulted in a loss of ₹941 crore.
- Waiver of ₹144 crore in the name of Covid-19 further weakened the revenue.
- There was a loss of ₹27 crore in properly recovering the security deposit.
Lack of attention to quality and checking of liquor: Testing labs and other infrastructure to ensure the quality of liquor were planned under the policy, but it was not implemented. The report also said that liquor shops were not distributed evenly, causing inconvenience to the public.
The report said that AAP leaders directly benefited from this policy. At that time, Excise Department chief Manish Sisodia and his fellow ministers deliberately violated the rules. There was a lack of transparency in decisions like issuing licenses and fee waiver.
This report of CAG has come at a time when Delhi elections are near. BJP has made it a big issue and has sought answers from former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. However, Aam Aadmi Party has completely rejected this report. Party leader Sanjay Singh said, “This report has not been presented in the Delhi Assembly yet. BJP is making false claims to make it an election issue.” He alleged that BJP is using this report to tarnish the image of Aam Aadmi Party.
Let us tell you that in the Delhi Liquor Policy scam, top people of Aam Aadmi Party and Delhi Government including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia had to go to jail. Investigation in this matter is still going on. Manish Sisodia got bail from jail after a long time, while Arvind Kejriwal also had to spend months in jail, after which he also had to step down from the post of Chief Minister. However, Arvind Kejriwal resigned after coming out of jail.
However, this controversy regarding the liquor policy of Delhi government can take new turns of politics. The public wants to know why there was a loss of Rs 2026 crore and who is responsible for it. After the report, pressure from the public and the opposition has increased on the Aam Aadmi Party.
OpIndia had continuously published news on Delhi liquor scam. You can read all the important news including jail and bail due to this scam here – (Delhi Liquor Policy Scam)
