The Delhi High Court has expressed disappointment over the Aam Aadmi Party-ruled government of Delhi over delaying the presentation of an important report from the Comptroller and Auditor General regarding the ongoing liquor scam in which prominent figures, including former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and senior leader Manish Sisodia, have been arrested.
During the hearing, Justice Sachin Datta expressed disappointment at the inordinate delay and remarked, “The way you’ve been dragging your feet is unfortunate. There should have been prompt action to send the reports to the Speaker for discussion on the Assembly floor.” Justice Datta pointed out that such delay in submitting reports to the Lieutenant Governor raises suspicion over the intention of the government.
The court also heard a petition from BJP MLAs, including Vijender Gupta, for a special session of the Delhi Assembly. The court, however, pointed out that the elections are near and asked how a special session could be held now.
The controversial CAG report had highlighted a loss of whopping Rs 2,026 crore to the Delhi exchequer due to certain deficiencies in the excise policy adopted by the government. The critical deficiencies identified by the report are the vital deviations from the policy intents, non-transparency in pricing, and undeterred license issuance-related violations.
The report said that failure of the government to re-offer surrendered licenses before the close of the policy period led to a loss of Rs 890 crore, while exemptions given to zonal licenses caused a loss of another Rs 941 crore.
The CAG report alarmingly had brought forth in its summary that even licenses were being issued without scrutiny to meet the condition of financial prudence and at times, even over criminal antecedents of applicants.
Upon this report, AAP MP Sanjay Singh says, “We know how model code of conduct has come into place. And they -meaning BJP- are into creating fake news again.” Explaining why sensitive news at times when the election is near is required when being carried forward.
The Delhi Assembly Secretariat had earlier informed the court that tabling CAG reports would serve no purpose as the tenure of the existing Assembly would end in February. The response came on a petition filed by seven BJP MLAs, which had sought tabling of 14 CAG reports in the Assembly.
With the Delhi Assembly elections due on February 5, tensions between AAP and BJP have increased with a fresh round of charges related to alleged corruption in Kejriwal’s residence, referred to as ‘Sheesh Mahal.’ The BJP has pointed to CAG findings that suggest the renovation costs of the Chief Minister’s house bloated from Rs 8 crore to Rs 32 crore.
In another incident last year, the protest by Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva against an alleged Rs 8,500 crore scam in the Yamuna river cleaning project turned sour when he suffered skin allergies after dipping into the river.
