Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal slammed the Central government over the Delhi liquor policy case and said that the entire case is false and the Centre wants to keep people tangled in agencies and investigations. He further stated that not even a penny was exchanged, and the case will be shut in a few days.
"They probed us so much, did anything come out?...You heard the Supreme Court yesterday, the entire liquor scam is false, no even a penny was exchanged. Judge kept asking for evidence but they had none. In a few days, the liquor scam would shut and they would come up with something else. All they want is to keep people tangled in agencies and investigations. They themselves will neither work nor let anyone else work," Kejriwal said, as quoted by the news agency ANI.
Kejriwal's remarks came a day after the Supreme Court questioned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi liquor policy case during a hearing on the bail plea of AAP leader Manish Sisodia. The apex court asked how a case was made and said just because some “pressure groups” sought a policy change does not imply corruption unless an element of bribery was involved, news agency PTI reported.
"We understand there was a policy change and everyone will support policies which are good for business. Pressure groups are always there but policy changes without money consideration will not matter. It's the money part which makes it an offence. If we go to an extent to say that there cannot be any pressure groups, no government can function...Lobbying will always be there. Of course, bribes cannot be accepted," the SC bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti said, as quoted by PTI.
Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 after the agency alleged that many ineligible vendors were awarded licences by the Delhi government in exchange for bribes. The liquor policy, introduced in November 2022, was withdrawn eight months later amid allegations of corruption.
Sisodia has been in custody since then. The ED arrested him in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9. Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28.
The apex court's hearing comes a day after AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was arrested in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy scam. Sanjay Singh was arrested by the ED on Wednesday evening after a raid at his house and a round of questioning.