New Delhi: BJP MP Parvesh Verma on Thursday alleged that during the Excise Policy 2021-22 in Delhi, wholesale license holders were involved in corruption worth hundreds of crores. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of Delhi withdrew the Excise Policy 2021-22 on July 30. Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. The move was taken by the Delhi government after Saxena recommended a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities in its implementation. Verma alleged that a person running a pub in South Delhi used to collect 6 per cent brokerage amount from wholesale (L-1) license holders who is close to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. There was no immediate reaction from Sisodia or the ruling AAP on Verma’s allegations.
The BJP MP from West Delhi alleged that the pub owner deleted his photographs shared on social media with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia and left the country after the Lt Governor recommended a CBI probe. Verma said, “The pub owner Dinesh Arora is said to be the right hand of Sisodia who often used to visit his pub at night. I want to ask Sisodia why he went to the pub at night and why his pictures with him (Dinesh) were removed after the recommendation of a CBI probe.’ The BJP MP claimed that under the new excise policy 2021-22, the commission of L-1 license holders was increased from 2.5 per cent to 12 per cent.
Verma alleged, “The pub owner used to collect six per cent of the brokerage amount from the L-1 license holders. In this way, around Rs 540 crore was collected. Also, Rs 200 crore was collected from three wholesale licensees, who had 60-70 per cent market share. Former MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged, “The money collected from the licensees was used for campaigning for the Aam Aadmi Party during the Punjab Assembly elections held earlier this year.”
“This money is also being spent for campaigning in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where elections are due later this year,” he alleged. Sisodia, who holds the charge of the excise department, recently defended the new excise policy. It was said that BJP leaders are making allegations of corruption as a lot of money out of Rs 3,500 crore stolen by the liquor mafia under the old policy went into their pockets.
Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com”
