New Delhi:

The BJP today escalated its attack on AAP following findings from a leaked Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report regarding the city’s controversial excise policy. Questioning the authenticity of the report, AAP leader Sanjay Singh asked whether the alleged findings were made at the BJP office. 

The report, which allegedly outlines major lapses and violations under the leadership of former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, has triggered a fresh row ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections. 

The CAG report has not been officially released. 

The purported CAG report, parts of which have reached the public domain, alleges that the Delhi government’s Excise Policy caused a loss of over Rs 2,026 crore to the state including Rs 890 crore due to the failure to re-tender surrendered retail liquor licenses. An additional loss of Rs 941 crore allegedly stemmed from exemptions granted to zonal licensees. 

Key approvals from the Lieutenant Governor (LG), the Cabinet, and the Assembly were allegedly bypassed. The report further claims that the Group of Ministers (GoM) led by Manish Sisodia ignored recommendations from an expert panel.

The BJP has seized on the alleged findings, accusing the AAP government of gross corruption and mismanagement. 

“If their (AAP) policies were so good then why were they taken aback? Today AAP has no answer to Delhi’s broken roads, dirty water in homes, rising electricity bills, mountains of garbage and pollution. Today the people of Delhi want to be free from ‘AAP-da’,” BJP leader Anurag Thakur said. 

AAP MP Sanjay Singh questioned the authenticity of the purported report.

“Where is the CAG report? Do you have a copy? Is it made at the BJP office? The BJP is scared. They have become mentally unstable. We cannot respond to everything. On one hand, they are saying the CAG report has not been tabled, but on the other, they say it has been released. What do they mean?” Mr Singh asked. 

The Congress has also joined the attack. Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav criticised the delay in tabling the CAG report in the Assembly, alleging that this indicated a deal between the BJP and AAP to suppress the report. Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit called the policy a “clear scam” and accused the Kejriwal government of draining government funds. 

New Delhi:

The government on Wednesday held a 40-minute meeting United States’ Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, who was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs’ office in Delhi’s South Block.

This comes a day after a US State Department spokesperson said it is monitoring reports of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, and called on New Delhi to ensure “a fair and timely legal process” for the jailed Aam Aadmi Party leader.

“We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India. In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents. India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” the MEA said.

The US State Department’s comments came, in turn, days after Germany’s Foreign Office stressed that Mr Kejriwal, like any other Indian citizen facing charges, is entitled to a fair and impartial trial.

The Indian government reacted strongly to the comment, summoning the German envoy and labelling the Foreign Office spokesperson’s remark “blatant interference in internal matters”.

“We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary,” the External Affairs Ministry said, “Biased assumptions are most unwarranted.”

Asked about India’s protest to Germany, the State Department spokesperson told Reuters, “We refer you to the German Foreign Ministry for comment on their discussions with the Indian government.”

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last week in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam that has roiled his AAP and provoked furious protests from the opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Mr Kejriwal was this week sent to jail till March 28.

The Enforcement Directorate believes the now-scrapped liquor policy provided an impossibly high profit margin of 185 per cent for retailers and 12 per cent for wholesalers. Of the latter, six per cent – over Rs 600 crore – were bribes and the money was allegedly used to fund the AAP’s poll campaigns.

Meanwhile, Mr Kejriwal is in the Delhi High Court today to challenge his arrest.

The ED has labelled the Chief Minister as a key conspirator in this case, but Mr Kejriwal and party colleagues arrested in this matter – ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, and former Health Minister Satyendar Jain – have all denied the charges.

The AAP and the opposition have hit out at the BJP-led central government for using central agencies, like the ED, to target rivals and critics before the general election. The AAP has criticised Mr Kejriwal’s arrest on grounds it was timed to interfere with his plans to campaign for the party.

The BJP has dismissed claims it uses central agencies as described by the opposition.