AAP Govt Liquor Policy Caused Loss of Over Rs. 2000 Crore: CAG Report
AAP Govt Liquor Policy Caused Loss of Over Rs. 2000 Crore: CAG Report
The report adds that in order to favour certain business entities with dubious financial records, Kejriwal and AAP got kickbacks or bribes from the liquor vendors.
By Rakesh Raman
A report on state liquor policy prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) was tabled in the Delhi Assembly today (February 25) by the newly elected government in Delhi.
The CAG report has pointed out enormous irregularities committed by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government headed by former chief minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal.
According to an NDTV report of February 25, the CAG asserts that the liquor policy which was implemented in November 2021 and scrapped in September the next year caused a loss of Rs 2,002.68 crore to the Delhi Government.
Earlier, according to an India Today report of January 11, 2025, the CAG report has found various lapses, violations of policy norms, felonious decisions to favour certain liquor vendors, and arbitrary distribution of licenses to sell liquor in the city.
[ Also Read: CAG Report Reveals Corruption in Delhi Liquor Scandal of Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party ]
The report adds that in order to favour certain business entities with dubious financial records, Kejriwal and AAP got kickbacks or bribes from the liquor vendors.
The CAG report further reveals that the decisions to implement the liquor policy by the AAP government were taken without the mandatory Cabinet approval or clearance from the Lt. Governor (LG) of Delhi.
Moreover, with the aim to implement the shady liquor policy, the AAP government did not present the revised rules in the Delhi Assembly for ratification and thus deliberately breached constitutional protocols.
But after the formation of a new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Delhi on February 20, the CAG report has been tabled in the Assembly for discussion. BJP leader and prime minister Narendra Modi has said that the money embezzled in the Delhi liquor scandal and other corruption crimes of the AAP government will be recovered from the culprits, besides legal punishment to them.
At least 3 AAP leaders including Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh were jailed in the liquor scandal case. They were later released on bail by the Supreme Court judges who were influenced by some dishonest lawyers who take huge public money to get bails for corrupt politicians.
It is believed that more CAG reports that reveal various corruption scandals of Kejriwal and his party colleagues will be presented transparently in the Delhi Assembly.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
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