Delhi liquor scam fabricated, motivated by dirty politics: Kejriwal after 9-hour CBI quiz

In a video message this morning, the Aam Aadmi Party chief, Arvind Kejriwal, said he received solidarity messages from several opposition leaders after being summoned by the agency, claimed that the BJP might have ordered the CBI to arrest him.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called the alleged liquor scam fabricated and accused "dirty politics" behind it after being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for nearly nine hours on Sunday.

"I was asked around 56 questions. I answered them all ...as I said earlier we have nothing to hide," said Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"The alleged liquor scam is false, fabricated and motivated by dirty politics... We will die but not give up honesty," Kejriwal told reporters after leaving the CBI headquarters at around 8.30 pm.

The agency had summoned Kejriwal on April 14 last seeking his appearance as a witness before the investigation team.

CBI had registered a case against the then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Minister In-charge of Excise, GNCT of Delhi and 14 others for an investigation into the allegations of irregularities in framing and implementation of Excise Policy for the year 2020-21 and extending post tender benefits to private persons.

After investigation, one charge sheet has been filed by CBI on November 25, 2021, against the CEO of a Mumbai-based firm and six other accused persons and further investigation is being carried out.

Following this, the CBI issued a statement saying, "The Chief Minister of Delhi, was issued a notice undersection 160 Cr.P.C for his examination in this case on 16.04.2023 and answering various questions related to the case. He joined the investigation today and his statement has been recorded u/s. 161 Cr.P.C."

The probe agency added that further investigation of this case is continuing.

Meanwhile, in a video message this morning, the Aam Aadmi Party chief, who received solidarity messages from several opposition leaders after being summoned by the agency, claimed that the BJP might have ordered the CBI to arrest him.

The BJP, which has alleged that Kejriwal was the "kingpin", said it was not the time for rhetoric but accountability and demanded his resignation. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said earlier today that investigation agencies such as CBI and ED work on the basis of facts, not emotions.

According to news agency PTI, officials said the CBI asked the chief minister about the policy formulation process, especially the "untraceable" file, which was earlier slated to be put before the Council of Ministers. They said the file containing opinions of the expert committee and public and legal opinions on it was not kept before the council and remains untraceable.

Kejriwal was also asked if he was involved in the formulation of the policy before it was approved, they said.

It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP. The policy was later scrapped.

While he was being questioned, several senior AAP leaders were "detained" by the Delhi Police during a sit-in at Archbishop Road against his summoning.

The detainees included Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha, Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi and Kailash Gahlot, AAP spokesperson Adil Ahmad Khan, AAP general secretary Pankaj Gupta and some ministers in the Punjab government.

The AAP chief was taken to the first-floor office of the Anti-Corruption Branch of the CBI, which is probing the matter, after arriving at the heavily fortified agency headquarters at around 11 am.

Sources told PTI Kejriwal was questioned for nearly nine hours. He was offered a lunch break and he chose not to go outside the CBI office.

Senior officials of the agency remained present in the office on Sunday to keep an eye on the development, a normal course whenever a VIP comes to the agency, the sources said.

The agency also quizzed Kejriwal on the statements of other accused, where they have indicated the manner in which policy was allegedly influenced to favour some liquor businessmen and the South liquor lobby.

In addition, the officials said the agency sought to know his role in formulating the excise policy and his knowledge about the alleged influence being cast by the traders and South lobby members.

Moreover, AAP leader Manish Sisodia was arrested on February 26 after nearly eight hours of questioning in the case with officials saying his answers were not satisfactory. He quit as deputy chief minister of Delhi on February 28.

(With agency inputs)