Deputy Chief Minister of the Capital state, Manish Sisodia is still on the radar of CBI, as the premier investigating agency summoned him in Delhi excise policy case asking him to be present for investigation on October 17 at 11 am at its’ headquarters. Soon after the summon, Sisodia wrote a letter to the Lt Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena, in which he shared the situation of rising crime rate and stumbling law-and-order in Delhi asking him to pay attention to it.
Meanwhile, the Deputy CM took to Twitter, noting that he will be cooperative throughout the investigation and writing, “CBI raid was conducted at my house for nearly 14 hours but nothing came out. I searched my bank locker and nothing came out of it. They did not find anything in my village.
The tweet then follows, “Now they have called me to the CBI headquarters at 11 am tomorrow. I will go and will give my full cooperation. Satyameva Jayate“.
Why is the AAP leader being summoned?
Earlier in August, the agency raided Sisodia’s home along with other 20 locations, which also involved the residences of 3 excise officers, as quoted by the CBI officer.
Why did the Delhi Lt Governor recommend a probe?
The whole matter is related to the irregularities found in the new liquor policy recently withdrawn by the Delhi administration, in which several high dignitaries were charged with corruption in the FIR filed by the CBI. Lt Governor Saxena is the one who recommended a CBI probe into the matter to find out the culprits. Sisodia is one of those who have been charged with corruption and moulding the policy for their own profit.
The decision was taken by Lieutenant Governor Saxena on the proposal of Delhi’s Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar after he determined and presented a report that showed the flaws and various violations of the rules, in addition to “deliberate and gross-procedural lapses”. As per Chief Secretary’s report, the new liquor policy 2021 provided “undue benefits to liquor licensees“.
Moreover, the Lt. Governor highlighted that the policy was enacted with the sole motive to benefit the private liquor barons to gain financial gain by the government officials at the highest ranks, including Sisodia.
On the other hand, the political blame game continues and, according to the Aam Aadmi Party, this whole thing is a trap which has been set up by the Central administration (BJP), as the party envies the rising popularity of AAP. It further added that Delhi’s Lt Governor is dancing on the gestures of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Sisodia’s letter to Lt Governor
In his letter to the Lt Governor Saxena, Sisodia wrote, “I urge you to please pay some attention to this matter too,” as he points out the heinous murders taking place in the capital city.
Highlighting recent three cases, according to NDTV, the AAP leader then adds, “There have been a number of incidents of rape as well as murder over the past few days. Delhi has now become the capital of criminals. “
Understand New Liquor excise policy
The AAP party proposed the policy in 2020, which later came into effect in 2021. Under the policy, the whole capital state was divided into 32 zones, with each zone containing at least twenty-seven (27) liquor vends to propose equal distribution in every zone.
The new policy then proposes that only the private liquor shops will remain in effect, announcing the exit of the government liquor-selling shops from the market.
The Delhi administration also announced some rule changes for licensees, allowing them to adjust the price of liquor while offering discounts.
Aim of new liquor policy
The policy was enacted to eliminate the liquor mafia, black market, and increase revenue, as well as improve the consumer experience.
For some time, protests were carried out by the opposition, which resulted in the excise department withholding discounts for some time. Following the upheaval, Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia announced on July 30 that the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022 would be scrapped entirely.
The policy brought enormous benefit to the government where its revenue was hiked by 27%, generating around 2900 crore.
