NEW DELHI: The BJP on Saturday once again targeted Arvind Kejriwal over the alleged excise policy scam saying it was the Delhi CM who was primarily responsible for the illegal benefits that a cartel of traders had reaped at the cost of citizens of the capital and he needed to offer an explanation to people in 24 hours. On a day AAP alleged that the CBI probe was a bid to thwart its challenge to BJP in Gujarat, information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said the charge was meant to divert attention from the huge swindle perpetrated by a party which promised corruption-free governance. “Enough of diversionary tactics. They need to come to the real issue of illegal diversion of Rs 144 crore of hard-earned money to a liquor cartel. How did it happen? Kejriwal owes an explanation to people as the loot happened on his charge. He is the undisputed boss and the buck stops with him. He should come clean in the next 24 hours as to why the revenue dropped sharply when there was a significant jump in the sale of liquor,” said Thakur quoting an Urdu couplet on the accountability of the ruler. “Kejriwal owes people of Delhi an explanation and he has not given it. He has still not answered why revenue worth Rs 144 crore was refunded to the suppliers. How much bribe was given to AAP? The Delhi CM alone can explain. More so, because Sisodia has gone into silent mode after the scam was exposed and has turned into ‘Money shh’,” said the minister even as his BJP colleagues, Lok Sabha Manoj Tiwari and Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta, joined in the attack. Gupta said that in his book, Swaraj, Kejriwal had vowed not to open liquor shops in a locality without taking the consent of the women there. “What made you change your stand?” he asked. Tiwari said AAP has turned into a platform for serving vested interests. They started off with claims of “janhit” and ended up serving “sharabhit”, he said. Thakur said people of Delhi had been “doubly cheated” by Kejriwal. “It is not just revenue loss, it is also betrayal of the trust people reposed in him because of his promise to fight corruption. “He has failed to deliver on governance and probity and has resorted to distributing ‘revdis’ (freebies) and ‘bevdis’ (booze) to divert attention from his failures and corruption, ” he said. On AAP’s charge about CBI probe into actions of Sisodia being a ploy to derail the party’s power bid in Gujarat, the minister was dismissive. “Why did CBI not take action at the time of polls in UP, Uttarakhand and Goa? Didn’t they make tall claims about their prospects in those states? They could not open their account in UP and Uttarakhand,” he said. “Arvind Kejriwal’s left hand (Satyendar Jain) is already in jail and only the future will tell about the fate of his right hand (Manish Sisodia),” Thakur said. “Was the new excise policy drafted by the beneficiary contractors or their well-wisher, Mr Kejriwal?” the minister questioned and took another jibe at the Delhi CM, saying, “ ‘AAP ke kaam ka paimana, bhrasht neta, gali gali maikhana” (the true parameters of AAP’s governance are corrupt leaders and liquors shops everywhere).” FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebookTwitterInstagramKOO APPYOUTUBE
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/bjp-targets-delhi-cm-arvind-kejriwal-explain-how-money-was-diverted/articleshow/93684275.cms
