Allegations against AAP in 'liquor scam' is BJP's conspiracy to defame party: Delhi CM

Press Trust of India

New Delhi: The excise policy case is a desperate attempt by the BJP to "malign an honest party like the AAP", Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday. His remarks came two days after a Delhi court granted bail to two accused in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.

The court said the evidence against the accused, Rajesh Joshi and Gautam Malhotra, was not sufficient for the case against them to be considered prima facie "genuine". Meanwhile, the Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party accused Kejriwal of trying to divert attention from the renovation "scam" involving his bungalow, by hoisting the issue of bail granted to two accused in the excise policy case.

With the court repeatedly denying bail to Manish Sisodia and "loss of public image" due to the "bungalow scam", Kejriwal is trying to create a perception that there is no liquor scam, said Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva. Kejriwal also took to Twitter and said the whole liquor scam is false. Addressing a press conference later in the day, the chief minister reiterated that the allegations against the AAP in the 'Delhi Liquor Scam' are nothing but a "political conspiracy by the BJP to defame him and his party".

He urged the judiciary to take appropriate action against those who are using the ED-CBI for their political interests. Dismissing the allegations of any liquor scam, he claimed that the accusations levelled by BJP were entirely false, adding that Aam Aadmi Party has always maintained its integrity.

"The AAP is known for its commitment to honesty, and its leadership has earned the trust of the entire country," he said. A conspiracy to malign the party's image and betray the people's trust was carried out under the guise of the 'Delhi Liquor Scam', he said, adding that the BJP had claimed that the South Lobby paid a bribe of Rs 100 crore to AAP members but it has failed to prove it.

"The CBI-ED have also accepted in the court that out of Rs 100 crore, they do not have any evidence of this scam. The CBI-ED had alleged that a person named Rajesh Joshi translocated Rs 30 crore from the South Lobby and handed it over to the AAP leadership in Delhi. The only 'proof' they have is that someone had stated to them that Joshi gave Rs 30 crore to AAP," he added.

Citing the May 6 order of Rouse Avenue Court, he said the order says that there is not "a single evidence against Joshi to prove that he came to Delhi with a single paisa from the South Lobby". "When Rajesh Joshi did not bring a single penny, the South Lobby did not give any money and the leadership of the party did not get the money, the whole case should be closed," the CM added.