Delhi BJP Praises CM for Presenting CAG Report in Assembly
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Synopsis
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva praised Chief Minister Rekha Gupta for tabling the CAG report on the excise policy, asserting it reveals the corruption of AAP leaders. He highlighted significant financial losses attributed to the liquor scam and called for accountability among those involved.
Key Takeaways
- Delhi BJP commends CM Rekha Gupta for presenting CAG report.
- Report exposes corruption by AAP leaders.
- Liquor scam led to massive financial losses.
- Call for accountability for corrupt practices.
- Allegations of regulatory violations in licensing.
New Delhi, Feb 25 (NationPress) The Delhi government is serious about tackling corruption, as stated by Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva on Tuesday. He commended Chief Minister Rekha Gupta for her decision to present the CAG report regarding the excise policy in the Assembly.
In a joint press briefing with MPs Manoj Tiwari and Praveen Khandelwal, Sachdeva asserted that the truth behind the loot, corruption, and deception that AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Atishi had been attempting to conceal for the last ten years is now fully revealed.
Sachdeva emphasized that the CAG report serves as the financial documentation of the government and should have been disclosed earlier.
“In spite of judicial intervention, the former government consistently disregarded it. Now that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has made the liquor scam report accessible, numerous disclosures have emerged — the most critical being that Arvind Kejriwal is the primary middleman for the liquor lobby,” he remarked.
He also claimed that the liquor scandal resulted in a staggering revenue loss of Rs 2,002.68 crore, along with a Rs 941.53 crore loss due to the non-opening of liquor stores in non-conforming wards. An additional Rs 890 crore was lost due to the failure to re-tender surrendered licenses.
The Delhi BJP leader noted that Rs 144 crore was waived for zonal licensees under the guise of Covid-19 relief, and Rs 27 crore was lost owing to the government's inadequate collection of security deposits.
Sachdeva alleged that regulations were breached in license distribution, with wholesale licenses granted to entities associated with retail and manufacturing companies, leading to a corrupt supply chain. “By increasing profit margins, wholesalers benefitted while the government's revenue dwindled — a direct outcome of Kejriwal's policies,” he stated.
He further added that the new excise policy removed governmental oversight and transferred control of the market to private firms. In numerous instances, commercial licenses were incorrectly issued for illegally operating shops.
Liquor licenses were granted without quality inspection reports, and Kejriwal and his team must answer for these actions, asserted the Delhi BJP chief.
Sachdeva asserted that those involved in these corrupt practices will face accountability.
MP Manoj Tiwari expressed astonishment at the CAG report's revelation of a scam exceeding Rs 2,000 crore, likening it to the Rs 214 crore scam that incarcerated Lalu Yadav — indicating that Delhi's liquor scandal is tenfold larger.
He accused Kejriwal of evading regulations to implement this liquor policy, which is why his government had been reluctant to present the CAG report in the Assembly for years.
He called for stringent penalties for those participating in the scam to deter future wrongdoers from engaging in corruption.
Khandelwal remarked that the ruthless pillaging of Delhi over the past decade led to losses exceeding Rs 2,000 crore, making it evident that the entire system was corrupt.
He pointed out that the profit margin for wholesale vendors was raised from 5 percent to 12 percent, while no quality control laboratories were established despite assurances.
Khandelwal also disclosed that a single applicant was allowed to manage 54 liquor shops, breaching former restrictions of two shops — fostering monopolies.
