CAG report: Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly and former Chief Minister Atishi on Tuesday defended the previous Arvind Kejriwal-led government, stating that the CAG report highlighted issues in the old excise policy, which the AAP government had already identified and addressed by introducing a new policy.
The newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Delhi, under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, tabled a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the second day of the eighth Delhi Assembly today.
Liquor was brought illegally from Haryana and UP
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday Atishi said, "The excise audit report was presented in the Delhi Assembly today. Its seven chapters are on the excise policy from 2017-21, and one chapter is on the new excise policy. The Delhi government had exposed the flaws and corruption of the old excise policy to the people of Delhi.
She further claimed that under the old policy, liquor was brought illegally from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. "This report is repeating the same thing that we said that the people of Delhi are incurring losses due to the old policy. This policy makes it clear that the AAP government took the right decision by removing the old policy," she added.
Report confirmed our point that there was corruption
The former CM further said that this report has confirmed our point that there was corruption in how much liquor was being sold. "This report shows that more than 28 per cent of corruption was being done by the contractors, and the money was going into the pockets of the brokers. This report shows that black marketing of liquor was happening, and everyone knew which party people had the liquor contracts. The liquor contractors made profits by calculating the cost price in an incorrect manner," the AAP leader said.
She further highlighted that in the eighth chapter, this report says that the new policy was transparent, there were ways to stop black marketing, and revenue should have increased through this.
"When the same policy was implemented in Punjab, the excise revenue increased there. Due to this policy, the revenue has increased by 65 per cent from 2021 to 2025. The report says that if the new policy were implemented properly, the revenue would have increased from 4,108 crores to 8,911 crores in just one year. This new policy was not implemented, so Rs 2,000 crores less revenue was collected. It should be investigated who did not allow it to be implemented. Three people are responsible for this: Delhi LG, CBI and ED. This policy makes it clear that the AAP government made the right decision by removing the old policy. We demand that on the basis of this CAG report, an investigation should be conducted by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, CBI and ED, an FIR should be filed, and action should be taken," she said.
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