Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi defended the scrapped new liquor policy on Tuesday, following a CAG report that revealed a ₹2002 crore loss to the Delhi exchequer. Atishi argued that the audit highlighted corruption under the previous liquor policy, which allowed for illegal liquor imports from neighboring states, leading to losses for Delhi’s residents. In response, the Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Delhi government of engaging in “black deeds,” claiming the report exposed the wrongdoings of former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The CAG report, presented in the Delhi Assembly today by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, claimed that the previous government’s decisions and liquor policy led to a cumulative loss of over ₹2002 crore to the national capital’s exchequer.
The excise audit report was presented in the Delhi Assembly today, comprising seven chapters on the excise policy from 2017-21 and one on the new policy. Atishi, defending the scrapped policy, stated that the Delhi government had already exposed the flaws and corruption of the old excise policy, under which liquor was illegally brought from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. She added, “This report reiterates what we have been saying—that the people of Delhi are suffering losses due to the old policy,” according to news agency ANI.
Atishi claimed that the CAG report validated the Aam Aadmi Party’s allegations of corruption in the liquor trade under the old policy. “This report has confirmed our point. There was corruption in the way liquor was being sold. It shows that over 28 percent of the corruption was carried out by contractors, with money funneled into the pockets of brokers. The report also highlights the black marketing of liquor, with widespread knowledge of which party members held the liquor contracts. Contractors profited by miscalculating the cost price,” she stated.
Delhi BJP chief Virendraa Sachdeva alleged that the CAG report exposed how the Aam Aadmi Party looted and scammed the people of Delhi. “This report reveals the black deeds of Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and AAP. It shows how they exploited the people of Delhi and set up liquor shops at residential and religious locations,” he said. The CAG report attributed the loss to several factors, including a weak policy framework.
The audit report stated that a combination of issues, from a weak policy framework to inadequate implementation, resulted in a cumulative loss of approximately ₹2,002.68 crore. The new liquor policy was scrapped in 2022 following an order from Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to investigate the alleged corruption in its implementation.
