NEW DELHI, March 10, 2023—Chairman of the Communications Department of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee and ex-MLA Shri Anil Bhardwaj said that with the court sending Manish Sisodia again for Enforcement Directorate remand for seven days shows that how serious are the allegations and proofs against him in the liquor scam case. He said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who came to power on the India Against Corruption agitation bandwagon, and claiming himself to be a “khattar imandar”, has turned out to be the most corrupt, as six of his Ministers have gone to jail in the past 9 years, and he should immediately tender his resignation as he has lost credibility and moral rights to remain in power. He said that two out of the three Ministers, who were part of the Group of Ministers (GoM) who formulated the corrupt liquor policy, Manish Sisodia and Satyender Jain, have been put behind bars while the third Minister, Kailash Ghelot, has been given additional charge of the Finance portfolio, held by Sisodia, to give him a promotion.
Addressing a press conference at the DPCC office, Rajiv Bhawan here today, Shri Anil Bhardwaj said that when surrounded from all sides by probe agencies like CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, who were now zeroing in on Kejriwal after making a water-tight against case Sisodia and Jain in the liquor scam and money laundering cases to put them behind bars, Kejriwal was paying obeisance at the Gandhi Samadhi at Rajghat, instead of calling on his political guru Anna Hazare. He said that it was ironic that Kejriwal was now remembering the people of Delhi, saying that people will question why Sisodia and Jain were jailed, but he did not bother about Delhiites when thousands of people died due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as he was then busy finalizing the corrupt liquor deal in the company of Sisodia, Satyender Jain, Kailash Ghelot and agents of the South Group liquor cartel, many of which were black-listed companies. He asked if the liquor policy was transparent and corruption-free, as Kejriwal has claimed, why was it withdrawn in a hurry when the Lt. Governor ordered a CBI probe into the liquor scam after Delhi Congress submitted a memorandum to him, detailing the corruption behind the implementation of the liquor policy? Why was the commission of the liquor firms increased from 6 to 12 per cent, because it was done as a quid pro quo for getting Rs 100 kickbacks from the South Group. He said that Kejriwal had promised in 2015 that women’s groups, Mohalla Sabhas and Gram Sabhas would be consulted before opening new liquor vends, but he flouted that promise by opening liquor outlets in 16 Assembly constituencies where there were none before, after receiving Rs 100 crore in kickbacks through middleman Vijay Nair. Vice-chairman of the DPCC Communications Department Shri Anuj Attrey was also present at the press conference.
Shri Anil Bhardwaj said that now courts will decide the fate of jailed Ministers Sisodia and Satyender Jain, and not the people of Delhi, as Kejriwal thinks, as the Aam Aadmi Party Ministers and MLAs under Kejriwal only betrayed Delhiites who elected them to power expecting a corruption-free, transparent Government, but which turned out to be the most corrupt. He said that Congress was in power in Delhi for 15 years and changed its face by carrying out extensive development works to make the National Capital one of the best in the world, but no Congress Minister was ever charge-sheeted or jailed for corruption. But six Ministers of the Kejriwal Government went to jail in 9 years, and many MLAs were facing criminal cases.
Shri Anil Bhardwaj said that had the Jan Lokpal been implemented, which was one of the promises of Kejriwal before coming to power, most of his Ministers and MLAs would have been behind bars much earlier. He said that similarly, Kejriwal had also fooled Delhiites by promising to get Statehood for Delhi, but does not utter the word now, as he had forgotten many of the fake promises he had made to Delhiites to get their votes. He said that Kejriwal has insulted a martyr like Shaheed Bhagat Singh as he sacrificed his life for the country while Kejriwal was neck-deep in corruption.
