Chandigarh 25 August : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday declared that the party would make an appeal to the Punjab Governor to take action in the Rs 500-crore AAP excise fraud, in addition to making complaint with the CBI and the ED to investigate kickbacks that the party received from the liquor cartel in Punjab.Addressing the media in Delhi, Badal said “there should be a fair and free investigation into all political leaders including Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Delhi MP Raghav Chadha and Punjab officials from the Punjab government who helped in the fraud”.
In announcing that AAP was following the Delhi model when it came to drafting the Punjab excise law, he stated that “like in the state of Delhi almost the entire trade in liquor was transferred to two firms”.
Badal said that the profits of the two firms was increased to facilitate a quid-pro the quo.”Hundreds of crores have been transferred to the AAP government in Punjab as well as the AAP high command in Delhi.”
Sharing the details, Badal said while framing the new excise policies, the Punjab government was following its AAP counterparts in Delhi.”It stipulated that every liquor manufacturing company should select a single licensee to sell their products in the state, and that the licensee of L-1 could not be manufacturing in India or overseas.It also stipulated that L-1 licensees must have an annual turnover of at least Rs 30 crore per year and should not hold any stake in the retail market in Punjab which effectively took Punjab liquor merchants out of the race.”
He stated that in the case of Punjab the margin of profit of the licensee increased from the previous five percent to 10.
Badal stated that the decision led in the transfer of almost all the liquor business to two firms — Brindco controlled by Aman Dhall and Anant Wines which was owned by the Mehra group.
While Raghav Chadha was the leader of the meetings with participants of both groups in an area located on the 5th level of Chandigarh’s Hyatt hotel two gatherings took place at Sisodia’s house on June 6 and 30, that were attended by Punjab officials from the government such as the Financial Commissioner as well as the Excise Commissioner.
He claimed that the names of the private players who were contacted to negotiate the transactions were kept in the dark with Sisodia making reference to them as Mr Mango and Mr Cucumber during the meeting with Punjab officials of the Punjab government.
In a statement, he said the twin CBI and ED investigation will only uncover the truth in the investigation, Badal said the movements of officers and leaders accused of being involved should be scrutinized and also the inspection of CCTV cameras placed at specified places.
He stated that the kickbacks he earned due to the double of the margin of profit from five percent to 10 percent should be investigated and the claim that the kickbacks paid by the liquor cartel in Delhi were used to contest Punjab elections held by AAP.
Badal stated that, now that an initial information report (FIR) was registered in the Delhi excise scam, the same procedure should be completed in the case of Punjab as well.
“The policy makers and the people who make the policies are alike.The method of looting the state’s exchequer is exactly the same.”
He said in the case of Delhi following complaints over the loot of the state exchequer , the Lieutenant.governor directed the chief secretary to carry out an investigation that came up with the results of an exchange of information at the highest level in the Delhi government.
“The report also concluded that Delhi excise policy did not comply with rules on excise and was designed at granting unfair favors to liquor licensees at the expense of the public exchequer.”
Badal said that in the wake of this, the CBI investigation was launched into the fraud and an FIR filed against the Delhi deputy Chief Minister and 14 others.
He claimed that the ED had also registered an additional instance of money laundering as well.
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