New Delhi: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to appear before it on Sunday for questioning in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case. The agency called Sisodia for questioning nearly three months after filing the charge sheet in the case, PTI quoted officials as saying.
Here are the top points-
- Sisodia in a tweet on Saturday said that he has been called for questioning yet again, and he would continue cooperating in the investigation. "CBI has called again tomorrow. They have used the full power of CBI, ED against me, raided my house, searched bank locker, but nothing was found against me," he said. He added, "I have worked to provide good education of Delhi’s children and they want to stop it." Sisodia added that nothing was found against him during searches.
- Reacting to the development, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said, "No scam took place in the Delhi liquor policy case. This is a conspiracy against Manish Sisodia."
- The federal agency alleged that the now-scrapped Delhi government’s policy granted licences to liquor traders who favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP. Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena ordered a CBI investigation into Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 in November last year.
- Amid allegations of corruption and irregularities in the drafting and implementation of the policy, the Delhi government reverted to the old liquor policy, blaming LG for the loss of revenue worth crores of rupees.
- Sisodia, who also held the charge of the Excise department, was earlier questioned on October 17 last year and his home and bank lockers were also searched in connection with the case.
- The agency said that it is now focused on the alleged influence of a "South Lobby" of businessmen and politicians in formulating and implementing Delhi liquor policy to swing it in their favour using middlemen, liquor traders, and public servants.
- Arrested businessmen Vijay Nair and Abhishek Boinpally are among the seven accused in the charge sheet filed on November 25 last year.
- Recently, the CBI arrested Butchibabu Gorantla, a former Chartered Accountant of K Kavitha, a BRS MLC in Telangana, and daughter of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in connection with the case. The CBI had questioned Kavitha in connection with the case in December last year.
- it is alleged that Babu had met several accused named in the FIR in Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai and was one of the prime negotiators from the South Lobby, which wanted to swing the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22 in its favour.