New Delhi, March 9 Calling it a setback to Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Monday said that the Delhi High Court has granted an interim stay on a lower court order that had directed departmental action against a CBI officer involved in the investigation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy case.
He said during the hearing, the High Court stayed the order concerned and paused further proceedings for the time being.
Sood launched a strong attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leaders over the alleged liquor policy scam and the recent judicial developments linked to it.
The Minister said that AAP had started its political journey in the name of fighting corruption, but neither during its 49-day government nor afterwards were any serious efforts made to curb corruption.
He also mentioned that during a discussion held at the India Islamic Centre in February 2014, the leadership of AAP had avoided addressing the issue.
He stated that the path for investigating a major case of corruption involving public money in Delhi has now opened, and soon the investigating agencies and the courts will deliver their conclusions.
The Minister said that AAP and its leaders should apologise to the people of Delhi.
Sood also pointed out that the High Court has recently stayed certain observations made by the lower court.
Drawing a comparison with cricket, he said that celebrating too early in a match is often referred to as “celebrating too early,” and similarly, AAP had prematurely declared itself “Kattar Imaandar”.
He added that after the appeal filed by the CBI in the High Court, the court has stayed the remarks made against the investigating agency’s officials.
He alleged that AAP leaders attempted to destroy several key pieces of evidence to conceal corruption in the case. It has come to light that 170 mobile phones and 43 SIM cards were destroyed to erase evidence related to the liquor policy case.
The Minister also referred to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. According to the report, Page 99 mentions a potential loss of approximately Rs 2,202.68 crore to the government.
He stated that under the old liquor policy, the government earned about Rs 329.90 in revenue per bottle, while under the new policy, it dropped drastically to around Rs 8.32 per bottle. At the same time, the retailers’ margin increased from Rs 33.35 to Rs 363.27, which had a significant impact on government revenue.
Sood said that due to these reasons, the government had to withdraw the policy, yet AAP continued to claim that there was no corruption in the policy.
He stated that the High Court’s observations on Monday make it clear that the law will take its course and the investigation in the matter will move forward.
He added that while AAP has repeatedly projected itself as “Kattar Imaandar,” the truth is gradually coming out.
Sood also said that investigating agencies have questioned hundreds of individuals in connection with the case and recorded several statements.
He alleged that AAP has consistently tried to give the issue a political colour and play the “victim card.”
He said that AAP must now answer before the people of Delhi why mobile phones and SIM cards were destroyed, why the liquor policy had to be withdrawn, and why there was such a massive decline in the government’s revenue.
The Minister added that Monday marks an important day in Delhi’s political landscape, as the court proceedings are bringing out the reality behind AAP’s claims.
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