Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in-charge of MCD polls Durgesh Pathak on Monday, 19 September, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its probe into the now-scrapped excise policy of the Arvind Kejriwal government.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia questioned the summons to Pathak, and wondered whether the agency was targeting the liquor policy or MCD polls.
"The ED has summoned AAP's MCD poll in-charge Durgesh Pathak today. What has our MCD poll in-charge to do with Delhi government's excise policy? Is their target liquor policy or MCD poll?" he said.
However, there was no official confirmation yet from the ED on the summons, according to PTI.
With this, four AAP leaders, including former minister Satyendar Jain, Sisodia and Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan are facing the heat from central investigative agencies.
Satyendar Jain was arrested on 30 May in a money laundering case. Recently, Khan’s house and four other premises linked to him were raided by the ACB, which found an unlicensed gun and some cash. Khan was arrested on 16 September.
The CBI has made Sisodia the accused number one in its FIR. The CBI's FIR has been lodged under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 477-A (falsification of accounts) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The allegations against Sisodia are that the liquor businessmen were allegedly given an exemption of Rs 30 crore. The licence holders were allegedly given extension according to their own will. The policy rules were made by violating excise rules.
The probe agency had last week conducted raids at multiple locations across the country in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 after taking over the case from the CBI, which has named Sisodia as accused in its FIR.
Sisodia Under Scanner for Lapses
Sisodia is under the scanner for alleged procedural lapses, which provided undue benefits to the tender process for liquor licensees for the year 2021-22. Delhi chief secretary's report found prima facie violations of GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR) 1993, Delhi Excise Act 2009 and Delhi Excise Rules 2010, in the implementation of Delhi excise policy 2021-22, according to Hindustan Times.
The Kejriwal government withdrew the policy in July after the CBI probe was recommended by Delhi L-G VK Saxena into the alleged irregularities but maintained that the allegations were politically motivated.
(With inputs from PTI and The Hindustan Times.)
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