News Analysis India

Tag: Delhi excise policy

  • Delhi Excise Scam: ED raids 30 locations pan-India excluding Sisodia’s house

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: As part of its ongoing probe, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting raids at multiple locations across the country in connection with the Delhi Excise policy scam case.

    According to sources, the raids are being conducted at more than 30 locations excluding Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s house.

    “We are conducting raids in Lucknow in UP, Gurugram in Haryana, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and other locations. The searches, which started early this morning, are underway,” they said.

    The ED case is based on the FIR of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

    The CBI has made Sisodia accused number one in its FIR. The CBI’s FIR has been lodged under sections 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) and 477-A (Falsification of accounts) of the IPC. The allegations against him are that liquor businessmen were allegedly given an exemption of Rs 30 crore. The licence holders were allegedly given extensions according to their own will. The policy rules were made by violating excise rules.

    Besides, it has also alleged the liquor businessmen were given an exemption of Rs 30 crore, while the licence holders were given an extension as per their own will.

    It also said that Sisodia and a few liquor barons were actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licensees to public servants, who have been accused in the case.

    “Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Arva Gopi Krishna, the then Commissioner (Excise), Anand Tiwari, the then Deputy Commissioner (Excise), and Pankaj Bhatnagar, Assistant Commissioner (Excise) were instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to excise policy for the year 2021-22 without the approval of competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licensee post tender,” read the FIR, which has been accessed by IANS.

    NEW DELHI: As part of its ongoing probe, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting raids at multiple locations across the country in connection with the Delhi Excise policy scam case.

    According to sources, the raids are being conducted at more than 30 locations excluding Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s house.

    “We are conducting raids in Lucknow in UP, Gurugram in Haryana, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and other locations. The searches, which started early this morning, are underway,” they said.

    The ED case is based on the FIR of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

    The CBI has made Sisodia accused number one in its FIR. The CBI’s FIR has been lodged under sections 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) and 477-A (Falsification of accounts) of the IPC. The allegations against him are that liquor businessmen were allegedly given an exemption of Rs 30 crore. The licence holders were allegedly given extensions according to their own will. The policy rules were made by violating excise rules.

    Besides, it has also alleged the liquor businessmen were given an exemption of Rs 30 crore, while the licence holders were given an extension as per their own will.

    It also said that Sisodia and a few liquor barons were actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licensees to public servants, who have been accused in the case.

    “Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Arva Gopi Krishna, the then Commissioner (Excise), Anand Tiwari, the then Deputy Commissioner (Excise), and Pankaj Bhatnagar, Assistant Commissioner (Excise) were instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to excise policy for the year 2021-22 without the approval of competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licensee post tender,” read the FIR, which has been accessed by IANS.

  • Sisodia alleges BJP wants all Delhi govt schools to be shut down for private players

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday claimed the BJP has started “weaving a new fabricated story” of corruption in the construction of Delhi government schools to target him after the CBI could not find anything against him in the excise policy case.

    Addressing a press conference, he also claimed the BJP was bringing up such a ‘fake story of corruption’ under ‘a conspiracy’ to close down all government schools and pave the way for the opening of private schools in the national capital.

    Sisodia called the BJP a “party of illiterates” and alleged at least 72,000 government schools in the states ruled by the saffron party have been closed in the past seven years to make way for the opening of private schools.

    ALSO READ | My clothes and even kid’s clothes raided by CBI during 14-hour but found nothing: Sisodia

    Sisodia’s claims came a day after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena sought a report from the chief secretary over a delay of more than two-and-half years in acting on a Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) report on an inquiry into the construction of additional classrooms in government schools.

    The report, which found gross irregularities and procedural lapses in execution of the projects, was sent by the CVC to the vigilance secretary in February 2020, seeking comments for further investigation and action.

    “Leaving aside the issue of liquor, they have now started raising a new fabricated story of scam in construction of Delhi government school buildings since yesterday,” Sisodia told the press conference, without referring to the LG’s directive to the chief secretary.

    Sisodia termed all the allegations of corruption against him as ‘lies’ and alleged it was the BJP’s ploy to close down all the government schools in the city to pave the way for the opening of private schools.

    “They are doing this under a conspiracy as the Delhi government schools have been providing quality education to its students with a world-class standard of pedagogy, state-of-the-art buildings and other infrastructure,” he claimed.

    “The Kejriwal dispensation is being ‘appreciated’ all over the world for transforming the Delhi government schools,” he said.

    “They are worried that people will start raising questions on their model of education which promotes opening of private schools if they understand that it is possible to improve the performance of government schools and make them better than the private schools. They want to ruin the country,” Sisodia added.

    The Deputy Chief Minister said the BJP can get the CBI conduct another raid at his residence if it wants to do so but the Aam Aadmi Party will not let the saffron party “shut a single school in Delhi”.

    ALSO READ | We have recording of BJP’s offer to Sisodia, will release it when time comes: AAP sources 

    “I am not scared of raids and cases,” he said.

    Citing government data, Sisodia said that at least 72,000 government schools have been closed in the BJP-ruled states in the last seven years to make way for 12,000 private schools, while the Kejriwal government built 700 new school buildings in the national capital since 2015.

    “BJP worked on a mission mode to shut government schools. As many as 51,000 schools were shut between September 2018-September 2019 itself,” he claimed.

    He said the Delhi government has spent money on providing schools with state-of-the-art buildings and other infrastructure.

    “Cost will increase when you spend money on building amazing schools with good tiles, good desks and washrooms. It is the government’s responsibility to provide good schools to children,” he said.

    NEW DELHI: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday claimed the BJP has started “weaving a new fabricated story” of corruption in the construction of Delhi government schools to target him after the CBI could not find anything against him in the excise policy case.

    Addressing a press conference, he also claimed the BJP was bringing up such a ‘fake story of corruption’ under ‘a conspiracy’ to close down all government schools and pave the way for the opening of private schools in the national capital.

    Sisodia called the BJP a “party of illiterates” and alleged at least 72,000 government schools in the states ruled by the saffron party have been closed in the past seven years to make way for the opening of private schools.

    ALSO READ | My clothes and even kid’s clothes raided by CBI during 14-hour but found nothing: Sisodia

    Sisodia’s claims came a day after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena sought a report from the chief secretary over a delay of more than two-and-half years in acting on a Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) report on an inquiry into the construction of additional classrooms in government schools.

    The report, which found gross irregularities and procedural lapses in execution of the projects, was sent by the CVC to the vigilance secretary in February 2020, seeking comments for further investigation and action.

    “Leaving aside the issue of liquor, they have now started raising a new fabricated story of scam in construction of Delhi government school buildings since yesterday,” Sisodia told the press conference, without referring to the LG’s directive to the chief secretary.

    Sisodia termed all the allegations of corruption against him as ‘lies’ and alleged it was the BJP’s ploy to close down all the government schools in the city to pave the way for the opening of private schools.

    “They are doing this under a conspiracy as the Delhi government schools have been providing quality education to its students with a world-class standard of pedagogy, state-of-the-art buildings and other infrastructure,” he claimed.

    “The Kejriwal dispensation is being ‘appreciated’ all over the world for transforming the Delhi government schools,” he said.

    “They are worried that people will start raising questions on their model of education which promotes opening of private schools if they understand that it is possible to improve the performance of government schools and make them better than the private schools. They want to ruin the country,” Sisodia added.

    The Deputy Chief Minister said the BJP can get the CBI conduct another raid at his residence if it wants to do so but the Aam Aadmi Party will not let the saffron party “shut a single school in Delhi”.

    ALSO READ | We have recording of BJP’s offer to Sisodia, will release it when time comes: AAP sources 

    “I am not scared of raids and cases,” he said.

    Citing government data, Sisodia said that at least 72,000 government schools have been closed in the BJP-ruled states in the last seven years to make way for 12,000 private schools, while the Kejriwal government built 700 new school buildings in the national capital since 2015.

    “BJP worked on a mission mode to shut government schools. As many as 51,000 schools were shut between September 2018-September 2019 itself,” he claimed.

    He said the Delhi government has spent money on providing schools with state-of-the-art buildings and other infrastructure.

    “Cost will increase when you spend money on building amazing schools with good tiles, good desks and washrooms. It is the government’s responsibility to provide good schools to children,” he said.

  • BJP ‘purifies’ Rajghat with Ganga jal after AAP MLAs’ visit; compares Kejriwal to Goebbels 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday sprinkled ‘Ganga jal’ on Rajghat after AAP legislators had visited the memorial, and its MP Manoj Tiwari took the point further by comparing Arvind Kejriwal to Joseph Goebbels and accusing him of lying repeatedly.

    The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying its various allegations were like a “movie script” meant to mislead the public on the “scam” in Delhi’s now-scrapped excise policy 2021-22.

    The BJP alleged that by visiting Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial Rajghat, AAP supremo Kejriwal has desecrated the place and the BJP workers sprinkled ‘Ganga jal’ there to “purify” it.

    Reacting to the AAP’s claims that the BJP was trying to poach its MLAs with an offer of Rs 20 crore each to switch sides, Tiwari said that everyday the AAP was coming up with old “movie scripts” to divert the public from the real issue.

    “This is a total flop show of the AAP. Kejriwal ji you have to speak on the excise policy but your silence on this issue says a lot. You always come up with the same old, worn-out movie script to divert public attention. Arvind, you have become a descendant of Goebbels, who used to think that if you keep telling the public a lie, they will start believing it as a truth,” Tiwari said.

    Goebbels was the propaganda minister in Adolf Hitler’s Nazi government. Tiwari said those indulged in the “liquor scam” visited the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.

    “Are these descendants of Goebbels even worthy of visiting the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi?” Tiwari asked.

    He said that the Delhi government’s excise policy was opposed by everyone including women and children in the city.

    “Public is demanding answers about the controversy surrounding the excise policy. You (Kejriwal) are busy in diverting the issue after gobbling up the public money. You should answer that why your excise policy was taken back as soon as the CBI enquiry was ordered?” Tiwari asked.

    BJP MP from west Delhi Parvesh Sahib Singh also hit out at the AAP and said the party was doing “theatrics” instead of coming clean on allegations of “scam” in the excise policy.

    “Arvind Kejriwal, who is hand-in-glove with the liquor mafia, desecrated the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, who used to speak against liquor. Our party workers will sprinkle Ganga water to purify the place,” Singh said.

    He said that those involved in the “scam” are bound to go behind bars for the corruption they have committed because the investigation agencies have all the incriminating evidence against them.

    The CBI is currently probing alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the Kejriwal government’s new excise policy and has named his deputy Manish Sisodia, who holds excise portfolio, as one of the accused in its FIR.

    The agency had also conducted a raid at the Deputy CM’s residence last week.

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday sprinkled ‘Ganga jal’ on Rajghat after AAP legislators had visited the memorial, and its MP Manoj Tiwari took the point further by comparing Arvind Kejriwal to Joseph Goebbels and accusing him of lying repeatedly.

    The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying its various allegations were like a “movie script” meant to mislead the public on the “scam” in Delhi’s now-scrapped excise policy 2021-22.

    The BJP alleged that by visiting Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial Rajghat, AAP supremo Kejriwal has desecrated the place and the BJP workers sprinkled ‘Ganga jal’ there to “purify” it.

    Reacting to the AAP’s claims that the BJP was trying to poach its MLAs with an offer of Rs 20 crore each to switch sides, Tiwari said that everyday the AAP was coming up with old “movie scripts” to divert the public from the real issue.

    “This is a total flop show of the AAP. Kejriwal ji you have to speak on the excise policy but your silence on this issue says a lot. You always come up with the same old, worn-out movie script to divert public attention. Arvind, you have become a descendant of Goebbels, who used to think that if you keep telling the public a lie, they will start believing it as a truth,” Tiwari said.

    Goebbels was the propaganda minister in Adolf Hitler’s Nazi government. Tiwari said those indulged in the “liquor scam” visited the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.

    “Are these descendants of Goebbels even worthy of visiting the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi?” Tiwari asked.

    He said that the Delhi government’s excise policy was opposed by everyone including women and children in the city.

    “Public is demanding answers about the controversy surrounding the excise policy. You (Kejriwal) are busy in diverting the issue after gobbling up the public money. You should answer that why your excise policy was taken back as soon as the CBI enquiry was ordered?” Tiwari asked.

    BJP MP from west Delhi Parvesh Sahib Singh also hit out at the AAP and said the party was doing “theatrics” instead of coming clean on allegations of “scam” in the excise policy.

    “Arvind Kejriwal, who is hand-in-glove with the liquor mafia, desecrated the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, who used to speak against liquor. Our party workers will sprinkle Ganga water to purify the place,” Singh said.

    He said that those involved in the “scam” are bound to go behind bars for the corruption they have committed because the investigation agencies have all the incriminating evidence against them.

    The CBI is currently probing alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the Kejriwal government’s new excise policy and has named his deputy Manish Sisodia, who holds excise portfolio, as one of the accused in its FIR.

    The agency had also conducted a raid at the Deputy CM’s residence last week.

  • BJP stages protests across Delhi over excise policy ‘scam’

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi unit of the BJP on Thursday held protests across the city over the alleged liquor scam by the Arvind Kejriwal government, burning effigies of AAP leaders and charging them with trying to divert people’s attention from the issue.

    Participating in a protest at R K Ashram, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta asked what was Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal waiting for before sacking Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, an accused in the liquor scam, and minister Satyendar Jain who was in jail in a money laundering case.

    “Kejriwal had once said that those who indulge in corruption are traitors of the country but now he has no answers for the corruption in his government’s excise policy,” Gupta said.

    “The BJP is asking why liquor manufacturers were allowed in retail trade, black-listed companies were given licences and fees worth crores of rupees were waived,” he said.

    Union minister Meenakashi Lekhi at a protest in C R Park attacked the Kejriwal government, saying it was busy minting money instead of helping the people of Delhi.

    East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir took a dig at Kejriwal over his charge that the BJP was trying to poach AAP MLAs.

    “Kejriwal ji whether you were also offered the post of Prime Minister in 2024 by the BJP,” Gambhir said in a tweet.

    केजरीवाल जी, कहीं 2024 के लिए प्रधानमंत्री पद का भी ऑफर तो नहीं दे दिया आपको भाजपा ने?

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi unit of the BJP on Thursday held protests across the city over the alleged liquor scam by the Arvind Kejriwal government, burning effigies of AAP leaders and charging them with trying to divert people’s attention from the issue.

    Participating in a protest at R K Ashram, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta asked what was Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal waiting for before sacking Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, an accused in the liquor scam, and minister Satyendar Jain who was in jail in a money laundering case.

    “Kejriwal had once said that those who indulge in corruption are traitors of the country but now he has no answers for the corruption in his government’s excise policy,” Gupta said.

    “The BJP is asking why liquor manufacturers were allowed in retail trade, black-listed companies were given licences and fees worth crores of rupees were waived,” he said.

    Union minister Meenakashi Lekhi at a protest in C R Park attacked the Kejriwal government, saying it was busy minting money instead of helping the people of Delhi.

    East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir took a dig at Kejriwal over his charge that the BJP was trying to poach AAP MLAs.

    “Kejriwal ji whether you were also offered the post of Prime Minister in 2024 by the BJP,” Gambhir said in a tweet.

    केजरीवाल जी, कहीं 2024 के लिए प्रधानमंत्री पद का भी ऑफर तो नहीं दे दिया आपको भाजपा ने?

  • Excise policy: Delhi govt gave licenses to firms that paid ‘hefty commissions’ to AAP, claims BJP 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Wednesday alleged the Delhi government ignored recommendations of a three-member expert panel set up to reform the liquor trade in the city and gave licences to companies that paid “hefty commissions” to the ruling AAP.

    It alleged the AAP government did not follow the suggestions of its own panel to “gain an unfair advantage” in the Punjab polls and is now deflecting the BJP’s questions on the issue.

    At a press conference here, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is the “kingpin” of the liquor policy “scam” but he did not sign a single file in an attempt to avoid investigation.

    Asked about the AAP’s claim that the BJP tried to bribe four of its legislators in Delhi, Patra said, “They may have got such offers from liquor mafia. Why don’t they tell the names of the people who approached them?” The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed on Wednesday that the BJP has approached four of its legislators in Delhi, asking them to switch sides and join the saffron party or else, face “false cases, the CBI and the ED”.

    Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta, who also addressed the news conference, said the AAP has failed to give direct and specific answers to questions posed by his party.

    The Delhi government handed over the wholesale liquor business to private players despite the expert panel recommending against it, Patra claimed.

    ALSO READ | ED registers money laundering case to probe alleged irregularities in Delhi Excise policy 

    He also alleged that the city government allowed cartelisation in the liquor business by giving multiple retail licences to big companies.

    “The AAP needed ‘mota maal’ (hefty commission) for the Punjab polls. So, whoever gave them ‘mota maal’ got licences. Neither the Kejriwal government floated any tender nor it issued any public notice. It gave licences to its “liquor mafia friends,” the BJP spokesperson alleged.

    “Blacklisted companies also got licences,” he claimed.

    The BJP leader said the AAP is now trying to “deflect” his party’s questions on malpractices in the implementation of liquor policy.

    “Manish (Sisodia) Ji, you may be the world’s best education minister, but you should immediately convene a press conference and answer what were you doing in your capacity as the excise minister.

    “Is it not true that you ignored the recommendations of the panel on the retail and wholesale liquor business? On whose direction did you do so?” Patra posed.

    The ED has registered a money laundering case against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others to probe the alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise policy after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR that has named Sisodia and 14 others.

    The CBI had conducted raids in the 2021-22 excise policy case on August 19 and had covered the residence of Sisodia in Delhi, that of IAS officer and former Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna and 19 other locations across seven states and Union Territories.

    Sisodia holds multiple portfolios in the Delhi government including that of excise and education.

    The ED will probe if there were alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy unveiled in November last year.

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Wednesday alleged the Delhi government ignored recommendations of a three-member expert panel set up to reform the liquor trade in the city and gave licences to companies that paid “hefty commissions” to the ruling AAP.

    It alleged the AAP government did not follow the suggestions of its own panel to “gain an unfair advantage” in the Punjab polls and is now deflecting the BJP’s questions on the issue.

    At a press conference here, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is the “kingpin” of the liquor policy “scam” but he did not sign a single file in an attempt to avoid investigation.

    Asked about the AAP’s claim that the BJP tried to bribe four of its legislators in Delhi, Patra said, “They may have got such offers from liquor mafia. Why don’t they tell the names of the people who approached them?” The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed on Wednesday that the BJP has approached four of its legislators in Delhi, asking them to switch sides and join the saffron party or else, face “false cases, the CBI and the ED”.

    Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta, who also addressed the news conference, said the AAP has failed to give direct and specific answers to questions posed by his party.

    The Delhi government handed over the wholesale liquor business to private players despite the expert panel recommending against it, Patra claimed.

    ALSO READ | ED registers money laundering case to probe alleged irregularities in Delhi Excise policy 

    He also alleged that the city government allowed cartelisation in the liquor business by giving multiple retail licences to big companies.

    “The AAP needed ‘mota maal’ (hefty commission) for the Punjab polls. So, whoever gave them ‘mota maal’ got licences. Neither the Kejriwal government floated any tender nor it issued any public notice. It gave licences to its “liquor mafia friends,” the BJP spokesperson alleged.

    “Blacklisted companies also got licences,” he claimed.

    The BJP leader said the AAP is now trying to “deflect” his party’s questions on malpractices in the implementation of liquor policy.

    “Manish (Sisodia) Ji, you may be the world’s best education minister, but you should immediately convene a press conference and answer what were you doing in your capacity as the excise minister.

    “Is it not true that you ignored the recommendations of the panel on the retail and wholesale liquor business? On whose direction did you do so?” Patra posed.

    The ED has registered a money laundering case against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others to probe the alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise policy after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR that has named Sisodia and 14 others.

    The CBI had conducted raids in the 2021-22 excise policy case on August 19 and had covered the residence of Sisodia in Delhi, that of IAS officer and former Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna and 19 other locations across seven states and Union Territories.

    Sisodia holds multiple portfolios in the Delhi government including that of excise and education.

    The ED will probe if there were alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy unveiled in November last year.

  • Sisodia ready to go behind bars but won’t bow down: AAP after ED registers money laundering case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: After the Enforcement Directorate registered a money laundering case over the Delhi excise policy, the AAP on Tuesday said it had to happen as Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia rejected the BJP’s offer to join it to free himself from charges in the matter.

    Sisodia is ready to go behind bars but he would not “bow down” before the BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) added.

    Official sources said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money laundering case to probe alleged irregularities in the excise policy allegedly involving Sisodia and others.

    The federal agency has filed the case under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR that has named Sisodia and 14 others.

    Reacting to the news about the registration of the case by the ED, AAP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said in a tweet in Hindi, “This had to happen. They (from BJP) had threatened Manish ji that if he does not join the BJP, the ED case will also be registered and he will be sent to jail,” 

    “Manish ji is ready to go to jail but not ready to bow down,” he added.

    The CBI had conducted raids in the case last week and had covered the Delhi residence of Sisodia and several other locations across seven states and Union Territories.

    Sisodia holds multiple portfolios in the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government including that of excise and education.

    The ED will probe if alleged irregularities were done in the formulation and execution of the Delhi excise policy brought out in November last year.

    Sisodia on Monday claimed that he was “offered the CM’s post” by the BJP and closure of all cases if he quit AAP and joined the saffron party.

    The BJP hit back, accusing him of trying to deflect attention from the corruption charges.

    NEW DELHI: After the Enforcement Directorate registered a money laundering case over the Delhi excise policy, the AAP on Tuesday said it had to happen as Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia rejected the BJP’s offer to join it to free himself from charges in the matter.

    Sisodia is ready to go behind bars but he would not “bow down” before the BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) added.

    Official sources said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money laundering case to probe alleged irregularities in the excise policy allegedly involving Sisodia and others.

    The federal agency has filed the case under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR that has named Sisodia and 14 others.

    Reacting to the news about the registration of the case by the ED, AAP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said in a tweet in Hindi, “This had to happen. They (from BJP) had threatened Manish ji that if he does not join the BJP, the ED case will also be registered and he will be sent to jail,” 

    “Manish ji is ready to go to jail but not ready to bow down,” he added.

    The CBI had conducted raids in the case last week and had covered the Delhi residence of Sisodia and several other locations across seven states and Union Territories.

    Sisodia holds multiple portfolios in the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government including that of excise and education.

    The ED will probe if alleged irregularities were done in the formulation and execution of the Delhi excise policy brought out in November last year.

    Sisodia on Monday claimed that he was “offered the CM’s post” by the BJP and closure of all cases if he quit AAP and joined the saffron party.

    The BJP hit back, accusing him of trying to deflect attention from the corruption charges.

  • ED registers money laundering case to probe alleged irregularities in Delhi Excise policy 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case to probe alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise policy allegedly involving Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others, official sources said Tuesday.

    The federal agency has filed the case under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR that has named Sisodia and 14 others.

    The CBI had conducted raids in the case last week on August 19 and had covered the Delhi residence of Sisodia, 50, that of IAS officer and former Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna and 19 other locations across seven states and Union Territories.

    Sisodia holds multiple portfolios in the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government including that of excise and education.

    The ED will probe if alleged irregularities were done in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy brought out in November last year.

    The scheme came under the scanner after Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena last month recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the implementation of Delhi’s Excise Policy 2021-22.

    He also suspended 11 excise officials in the matter.

    Sisodia too demanded a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the policy.

    The CBI inquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary’s report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009 and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, officials said.

    The ED, during its probe, will analyse if individuals and companies who were involved in the policy-making of this scheme and related entities generated any “proceeds of crime under the definition of PMLA” and if there was any possible creation of illegal or benami assets, sources said.

    The agency has powers to attach such assets and question, arrest and prosecute those who indulge in the offence of money laundering.

    According to officials, the chief secretary’s report had shown prima facie violations, including “deliberate and gross procedural lapses”, to provide post-tender “undue benefits to liquor licensees” through the policy.

    It is alleged that undue financial favours were extended to liquor licensees after the tenders were awarded, causing loss to the exchequer.

    The excise department gave a waiver of Rs 144.36 crore to the licensees on the tendered licence fee on the excuse of COVID-19, sources claimed.

    They added that it also refunded the earnest money of Rs 30 crore to the lowest bidder for the licence of the airport zone when it failed to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from airport authorities.

    “It was in gross violation of rule 48(11)(b) of the Delhi Excise Rules, 2010, which clearly stipulates that the successful bidder must complete all formalities for the grant of the licence, failing which all deposits made by him shall stand forfeited to the government,” a source said.

    The Excise Policy 2021-22, formulated on the basis of an expert committee report, was implemented on November 17 last year and retail licences were issued under it to private bidders for 849 vends across the city, divided into 32 zones.

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case to probe alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise policy allegedly involving Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others, official sources said Tuesday.

    The federal agency has filed the case under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR that has named Sisodia and 14 others.

    The CBI had conducted raids in the case last week on August 19 and had covered the Delhi residence of Sisodia, 50, that of IAS officer and former Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna and 19 other locations across seven states and Union Territories.

    Sisodia holds multiple portfolios in the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government including that of excise and education.

    The ED will probe if alleged irregularities were done in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy brought out in November last year.

    The scheme came under the scanner after Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena last month recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the implementation of Delhi’s Excise Policy 2021-22.

    He also suspended 11 excise officials in the matter.

    Sisodia too demanded a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the policy.

    The CBI inquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary’s report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009 and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, officials said.

    The ED, during its probe, will analyse if individuals and companies who were involved in the policy-making of this scheme and related entities generated any “proceeds of crime under the definition of PMLA” and if there was any possible creation of illegal or benami assets, sources said.

    The agency has powers to attach such assets and question, arrest and prosecute those who indulge in the offence of money laundering.

    According to officials, the chief secretary’s report had shown prima facie violations, including “deliberate and gross procedural lapses”, to provide post-tender “undue benefits to liquor licensees” through the policy.

    It is alleged that undue financial favours were extended to liquor licensees after the tenders were awarded, causing loss to the exchequer.

    The excise department gave a waiver of Rs 144.36 crore to the licensees on the tendered licence fee on the excuse of COVID-19, sources claimed.

    They added that it also refunded the earnest money of Rs 30 crore to the lowest bidder for the licence of the airport zone when it failed to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from airport authorities.

    “It was in gross violation of rule 48(11)(b) of the Delhi Excise Rules, 2010, which clearly stipulates that the successful bidder must complete all formalities for the grant of the licence, failing which all deposits made by him shall stand forfeited to the government,” a source said.

    The Excise Policy 2021-22, formulated on the basis of an expert committee report, was implemented on November 17 last year and retail licences were issued under it to private bidders for 849 vends across the city, divided into 32 zones.

  • We have recording of BJP’s offer to Sisodia, will release it when time comes: AAP sources 

    Earlier, Sisodia claimed that he was “offered the CM's post” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and closure of all cases against him if he quit the AAP and joined the saffron party.

  • ‘BJP alarmed by Kejriwal’s growing popularity, so misusing central agencies’: AAP

    The 2024 Lok Sabha election is clearly a battle between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AAP national convener Kejriwal, chief spokesperson of the AAP in Punjab Malvinder Singh Kang said.

  • Delhi Congress holds protest, demands Sisodia’s resignation

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Delhi Congress leaders and workers staged a protest outside the Aam Admi Party office here on Saturday demanding the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the alleged corruption in the implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy.

    The protesters marched from the Delhi Congress office at DDU Marg towards AAP headquarters raising slogans against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia.

    Delhi Congress demanded that Kejriwal should remove Sisodia from his Cabinet as he is named in an FIR registered by the CBI in the excise policy “scam”, said Delhi Congress media department vice chairman Parvez Alam.

    Sisodia’s residence was searched by the CBI for several hours by the CBI in connection with the alleged irregularities in the execution of Excise Policy 2021-22 on Friday. He has been named among 15 persons in an FIR registered by the probe agency.

    NEW DELHI: Delhi Congress leaders and workers staged a protest outside the Aam Admi Party office here on Saturday demanding the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the alleged corruption in the implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy.

    The protesters marched from the Delhi Congress office at DDU Marg towards AAP headquarters raising slogans against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia.

    Delhi Congress demanded that Kejriwal should remove Sisodia from his Cabinet as he is named in an FIR registered by the CBI in the excise policy “scam”, said Delhi Congress media department vice chairman Parvez Alam.

    Sisodia’s residence was searched by the CBI for several hours by the CBI in connection with the alleged irregularities in the execution of Excise Policy 2021-22 on Friday. He has been named among 15 persons in an FIR registered by the probe agency.