Delhi excise policy: CBI inquiry should be extended to Punjab too, says SAD's Bikram Majithia
Chandigarh, February 27: Former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Monday demanded that the CBI inquiry into the Delhi excise policy scam be extended to Punjab. He alleged that Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was also the architect of the new Punjab excise policy, which had caused losses of hundreds of crores to the state exchequer.
Addressing the media, SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that, “Actors and directors of the Punjab excise policy are the same as in case of the Delhi excise policy. As in the case of Delhi, the CBI should probe the role of senior officials and AAP politicians, who had colluded to give huge benefits to select liquor manufacturers such as Deep Malhotra at the cost of the state exchequer."
He said a separate Enforcement Directorate inquiry should also be conducted to go into assertions of money laundering.
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Alleging large-scale corruption in the Punjab excise policy, the SAD leader alleged that like in the case of Delhi, the entire liquor trade had been handed over to two companies and their profit margin had been doubled to facilitate a quid pro quo.
“Hundreds of crores have been passed back to the AAP government in Punjab and the AAP high command in Delhi. It is this ill-gotten money from liquor as well as sand mining mafi, which is being used by the AAP to fulfill Arvind Kejriwal’s national electoral dreams”.
He alleged that this was the reason why the Delhi CM had publicly stated that the same policy which had been disallowed in Delhi was doing “wonders” in Punjab.
Asking the AAP not to adopt double standards on corruption, Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that, “The AAP considers corruption done by its leaders as good corruption, but if done by anyone else, it becomes bad."
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The former SAD minister also lashed out at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for sitting in Delhi to defend Manish Sisodia even as Punjab was burning. “The border state is going through a severe crisis due to complete breakdown in the law and order situation. Even jails are not safe with two gangsters involved in the Sidhu Moosewala killing being conveniently murdered”.
- PTC NEWS
