New Delhi: Ahead of the 2025 assembly elections in the national capital, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Virendraa Sachdeva on Saturday accused former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of being the “kingpin” of Delhi’s liquor scam. Sachdeva asserted that Kejriwal would be punished for his alleged involvement in the excise policy case.

“It is clear that Arvind Kejriwal is the ‘kingpin’ of the Delhi Excise Policy scam and he has looted Delhi. We have been saying this since the first day that once you are out on bail, it is not evidence of your innocence. As the investigation progresses, Arvind Kejriwal is the culprit in this and will be punished,” Delhi BJP President Virendraa Sachdeva told ANI.

Sachdeva’s statement comes after Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) permission to prosecute AAP Chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case.

On December 5, the Enforcement Directorate sought permission to sanction Kejriwal’s prosecution. This development follows months of investigations into the Delhi government’s excise policy, which has been at the center of controversy and allegations of corruption.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Friday granted the ED additional time to file its reply to the petition filed by Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. The petition challenges the trial court’s decision to take cognizance of the chargesheets in the Delhi Excise Liquor Policy case.

The matter has been scheduled for hearing on February 5 by the bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri.

Recently, the Delhi High Court issued a notice on the plea filed by AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, challenging the trial court’s decision to consider the ED’s chargesheet in the alleged excise policy scam.

Both Kejriwal and Sisodia are currently out on bail in cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) related to the now-scrapped excise policy.

According to the ED, the excise policy was deliberately designed with loopholes to benefit AAP leaders and encourage cartel formation. The ED has accused AAP leaders of receiving kickbacks from liquor businesses in exchange for preferential treatment, including discounts, license fee waivers, and relief during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ED further alleged that the scam involved awarding wholesale liquor distribution rights to private entities with a fixed 12 per cent margin, in exchange for a 6 per cent kickback. Additionally, AAP leaders were accused of influencing the outcome of elections in Punjab and Goa in early 2022. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed.)