A day after being summoned by the CBI in the Delhi Liquor Policy Case, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lashed at PM Modi and the BJP government, and blamed government agencies for going to extraordinary lengths to target the fiercest political opponents of the Centre.
Kejriwal alleged that courts are being lied to and without a shred of proof, those arrested are being tortured by agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). These agencies have falsely claimed that 14 phones were destroyed, lying to the courts in affidavits, torturing suspects to extract falsified confessions, and employing thuggish threats like "will see how your daughter gets to college tomorrow", he claimed.
The Chief Minister also pointed out that the agencies have not found a single penny of ill-gotten wealth amassed from the so-called liquor scam, despite months of investigation, and scores of arrests, including his former deputy Manish Sisodia, as per an NDTV report.
"When they found nothing in raids, they said the money had been funneled into our Goa election campaign. Where is the proof of this? All our payments were made with cheques. Show me a single rupee of the ₹ 100 crores you claim we got," Kejriwal said.
"If I say, without proof, that I paid Prime Minister Narendra Modi ₹ 1,000 crores on the 17th of September at 7 pm, will you arrest him?" He asked. Kejriwal also tweeted announcing he will sue the agencies for perjury and falsifying evidence.
"The same policy, which they call corrupt, was introduced in Punjab and has resulted in a 50 per cent increase in revenue. It was a game-changing and transparent policy," Kejriwal said.
As asked by the investigating agency, he will appear for questioning tomorrow.
The CBI is currently probing allegations regarding the liquor policy implemented by the Delhi government last year, ending government control over the sale of liquor in the capital, and allegedly giving undue advantages to private retailers.
For their involvement in the scam, those at the "highest levels" of Kejriwal's government have been accused by the agency of being paid crores for favors in the policy, which were funneled later into his party's election campaign in Goa last year.
The arrest of Manish Sisodia in February this year was the highest-profile arrest in the case so followed by the summons to Kejriwal. Both Kejriwal and Sisodia marked their presence in Indian politics with the 2011 anti-corruption movement that swept the nation. The foundation of the Aam Admi Party comes from this movement, which recently upgraded to the status of a national outfit, especially after the Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022.
