Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Friday launched a scathing attack on AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal after a special court discharged him and 22 others in the Delhi excise policy case, questioning the “kattar imandaar” (brutally honest) claims made by the former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.Reacting to the court’s order, Gupta said, “This could be a lower court’s decision. We all know how the evidence was tampered with when this matter arose. Around 150 mobile phones were destroyed and their data deleted. If you (Arvind Kejriwal) were right, why did you withdraw the liquor policy as soon as the investigation began?”
Gupta accused Kejriwal of presiding over irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22, alleging that the commission for traders was increased from 5 per cent to 12 per cent and that the sector was being pushed toward privatisation.“Can you say that giving one liquor bottle free with another was right for Delhi? The high court and the Supreme Court had also expressed concerns. Evidence of money laundering was found. And today you are boasting about honesty?” she remarked.She further targeted Kejriwal over other alleged irregularities, including the “Sheesh Mahal” controversy and alleged school infrastructure issues, claiming that several projects remained incomplete despite escalated costs.“Didn’t you cheat the people of Delhi in the Sheesh Mahal case? Didn’t you cheat the people of Delhi in the school scam?… You committed scams worth crores of rupees in Delhi. You accounted for toilets as classrooms. Projects that doubled in cost are still pending. In so many of your schemes, till today, scams emerge daily, where you sanctioned 10 crores and 150 crores were spent… The people of Delhi have already delivered their verdict, and for the money of the people of Delhi that you have embezzled, there will be justice for that too,” Gupta added.On Kejriwal saying that he and the AAP are “Kattar imandaar”, Gupta said, “Even today, you are doing drama. You are the person who wears a size 44 shirt when a size 42 fits, to show how ordinary I am…You don’t talk about anything less than a private jet, and you are saying I am an ordinary man, I am an honest man.”The remarks come after a special court discharged all 23 accused, including Kejriwal and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, in the CBI case relating to the Delhi excise policy 2021-22. Special judge (PC Act) Jitender Singh of the Rouse Avenue court held that the prosecution had failed to establish even a prima facie case, describing the allegations as “legally infirm, unsustainable, and unfit to proceed any further in law.” The court was critical of the investigative approach adopted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), observing that the agency’s theory was based on conjectures rather than admissible evidence. It also cautioned against the use of approver statements to fill gaps in the prosecution’s case and recommended a departmental inquiry against certain CBI officials.However, the CBI has approached the Delhi high court challenging the discharge order and is seeking to have it set aside, keeping the legal battle alive.Meanwhile, Kejriwal hailed the trial court’s verdict as proof of his and the Aam Aadmi Party’s integrity. Addressing a press conference, he alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had “hatched a conspiracy” against him because they could not defeat the AAP politically.“The court’s 600-page order says there is not even the slightest evidence to have a case in this matter. Kejriwal and AAP are ‘kattar imandaar’,” he said, even challenging the Centre to hold fresh Delhi Assembly elections.The case originated from allegations of corruption in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 introduced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. The CBI had alleged that the policy was framed to benefit certain private liquor licensees by allegedly reducing licence fees and fixing profit margins, resulting in kickbacks and financial loss to the Delhi government.The FIR was registered by the CBI in August 2022 following a complaint by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. According to the agency, a criminal conspiracy was allegedly hatched at the stage of policy formulation, with deliberate loopholes introduced to favour select entities after the tender process.With the Special Court’s order discharging all accused, the matter at the trial court stage has concluded for now. The legality of that order will now be examined by the Delhi High Court following the CBI’s challenge.
