Can Congress and AAP continue to disregard law?

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate for the liquor scam within hours after the Congress national leadership held a press conference protesting the Income Tax department’s decision to freeze their bank accounts. Both these incidents took place on March 21. What is interesting is the fact that there are numerous similarities between both the happenings. Immediately later, the leaders and karyakartas of Congress and AAP started expressing their displeasure and repeated their old accusation that the Modi government is taking vindictive action. Even revered and senior leader Sharad Pawar began to sing the same tune.

For the past one-and-a-half years, the Delhi government’s liquor scam is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. ED had summoned Kejriwal nine times for an inquiry, but each time, he hurried to the court and declined to appear for questioning before the ED. Kejriwal’s close and loyal colleague Manish Sisodia is already behind bars for more than a year for the same offense. Sisodia has not been successful in getting bail, neither from the Supreme Court nor the High Court.

Kejriwal’s ‘gimmicks’ earn him notoriety. From the moment ED issued the first notice till Kejriwal’s arrest, he and his supporters made desperate attempts to demonstrate how they were being tortured in spite of their innocence. Kejriwal kept going to the courts whenever he was summoned because he was determined that he would not appear before the ED under any circumstances.
Kejriwal insisted again and again that the Delhi government’s liquor policy did not involve any financial misappropriation. I am still unable to apprehend that if Kejriwal was so certain that there was no financial misappropriation, why was he unwilling to appear before the ED.

Let’s delve deeper to understand the reasons behind the controversy surrounding the Delhi government’s excise policy under Arvind Kejriwal that came into force in 2021. According to this policy, Delhi city was divided into 32 zones. In 2020, a committee led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was established to develop an excise Policy for the Delhi government. According to the committee’s recommendation, Delhi government should keep the ‘L1’ licence for the wholesale distribution of alcohol. Sisodia, the excise department’s head at the time, handed over the entire process of issuing liquor licences to private companies. Kejriwal who had won the election in Delhi on the platform of establishing an honest and transparent government, did not float any tenders. It was decided that the commission for wholesale supply will be increased from 2 percent to 12 percent. Instead of implementing lottery system, the 32 divisions were divided among two liquor manufacturing companies, each getting 16 liquor outlets. Had the liquor licences been awarded through lottery system, there would have been more bidders. Consequently, the liquor manufacturing companies were granted licences for both wholesale and retail supply, meaning that they could now function as both the distributor and the retailer. This is the liquor scam. Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken had publicly accused Kejriwal government for corruption in liquor policy. Maken had also stated that the Congress must not, under any circumstances, back Kejriwal.

The initial investigations revealed information about the money paid, in the form of commissions or otherwise, to people including those affiliated with AAP by these liquor manufacturing companies. Sisodia was detained on the basis of this information. Ajay Maken had also alleged that AAP had utilized this money against the Congress during the Goa and Punjab Assembly elections. On October 25, 2021, the excise department had notified Kejriwal government about the irregularities pertaining to liquor licences, but the government ignored it. Later, the investigating agencies, with its chain of evidence, exposed this money trail. But still Kejriwal continued to profess his innocence.

Congress used Kejriwal’s trick with regard to its bank account issue. Congress leadership has always acted as if the laws of the nation do not apply to them; they are above law. With regard to its bank account issue, the Congress owed Rs 205 crore towards tax and interest to the Income Tax department during the financial year 2017-18. Congress went in appeal against it. Now according to
the law, while appealing, an amount equivalent to 10 percent of the original amount has to be deposited. But the Congress did not honour the payment. Instead, it went in appeal. The appeal to halt the Income Tax department’s recovery proceedings was denied by the authorities. For the past three years, the department has been asking the Congress to pay the Income Tax but Congress is disregarding it. For failing to file income tax returns on time or even for failing to pay income tax on time, the common man has to pay a penalty. But when action was taken against the Congress, its leadership got enraged. Congressmen always behave as if they are above the law and that they are exempt from laws that apply to individuals. Having realized that the Lok Sabha polls will not go in
their favour, Congress leaders are claiming inanely that their leaders have no money to visit different constituencies. I reserve my doubts whether these strategies will really help the Congress and AAP.

 

(Article Pre-Published in Times of India -27 March 2024)

Keshav Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson