Home Minister Amit Shah today took a swipe at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal suggesting that people will only be reminded of the ‘liquor scam’ when they see him campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections.
“As a voter, I believe wherever he will go for the poll campaign, the people will remember the liquor scam, even in Punjab. People will also see big bottles in front of them when they see Kejriwal,” Mr Shah said during an interview with ANI. He said that he does not feel the opposition INDIA bloc will benefit from Mr Kejriwal being granted interim bail to campaign.
#WATCH | On out-on-interim bail Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal campaigning for elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, “As a voter, I believe that wherever he will go people will remember liquor scam…Kayi logon ko toh badi bottle dikhai padegi.” pic.twitter.com/JIsMNFvFQC
— ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2024
The Supreme Court granted interim bail to Mr Kejriwal earlier this month in a case related to the Delhi liquor policy. The court has asked the Aam Aadmi Party chief to surrender on June 2, so that the Enforcement Directorate can continue their probe in the case.
Reacting to the verdict, Mr Shah said that it should not be seen as a victory for the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal.
“What was their plea before the SC? They said that his arrest was illegal but the apex court dismissed it. Then they modified their plea and asked for bail; the court rejected that too. The Supreme Court said that as per your demand to campaign in elections, we are giving you interim bail and you have to surrender on June 1,” Mr Shah said.
The Home Minister also said that Mr Kejriwal’s remarks that a vote for AAP would ensure that he does not go back to jail sends out the wrong message.
“The Supreme Court judges have to decide this. Will the Supreme Court decide the crime based on victory or defeat? This is a wrong comment on the functioning of the Supreme Court,” Amit Shah said.
Mr Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi liquor scam, was granted interim bail on May 10 for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections.
Four phases of polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections have been concluded. Voting for Delhi’s seven seats is scheduled to be held on May 25. Mr Kejriwal has been asked to surrender on June 2, a day after polling ends in the last phase.
The ED’s case is that the Delhi liquor policy 2021-22 provided an exceptionally high-profit margin of 12 per cent for wholesalers and nearly 185 per cent for retailers. A key focus of the investigation into the Delhi liquor policy case was on an alleged network of middlemen, businessmen and politicians which the central agencies have called the “South Group”.
