The Delhi government implemented an Excise Policy in 2021, although it was only in effect for a short period of time. The now scrapped policy proved to be the destruction for the Aam Aadmi Party. It ensnared the party in bribery and fraud allegations. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Electorate Directorate (ED) conducted many raids because it was believed that the AAP’s senior executives benefited from unauthorized earnings coming after implementing the Excise Policy. During the search, Manish Sisodia, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, was arrested for his role in scam.
Since Sisodia’s arrest, the Aam Aadmi’s politicians have attempted to portray the whole scam as a hoax and a conspiracy hatched to defame the party. After their several attempts to mop up its party name from the scam miserably failed, the AAP Chief Minister and its leaders came forward again seeking this as another opportunity after the two accused on Friday named in the Delhi Excise Policy scam were granted bail by the court due to insufficient evidence. Moreover, taking its Twitter account Kejriwal tweeted that, “The whole liquor scam is false. We were saying it from beginning. Now even court have started saying it. Its a desperate measure by BJP to malign an honest party like AAP.”
Besides, Delhi’s recently appointed education minister, Atishi Marlena, in a press conference to the media said in sarcastic tone that the ED has shown that the Aam Aadmi Party is the most honest party. The Aam Aadmi Party’s Twitter handle, which tweeted Atishi’s conference video, said that the ED had stated that the 100 crore received as a bribe was utilized in the Goa polls. However, the Aam Aadmi Party spent Rs 19 lakh in cash during the Goa poll.
Is the investigation carried out by the CBI and ED is a conspiracy to defame the ruling party in Delhi? Lets find the truth in our fact check.
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Fact Check
The facts are different from what the Aam Aadmi Party has been trying to project for so long. To maintain the long-earned reputation achieved through free-bee politics, party members have on several occasions made misleading statements and claims on the Excise Policy Investigation. Similarly, after Sanjay Singh was inadvertently named in one of the four references in the ED’s charge sheet last week, the party seized the opportunity to question the ED probe and term it a conspiracy.
They’ve employed the same pattern of lying and misleading, after the Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to the two accused who were named in the scam on Friday. They are selectively quoting the court’s decision in order to exonerate its party name from the scam. The recent court judgement granted bail to two accused must be known and evaluated in all factors that are included. What does the ruling say? Does it state that the charges made against the party leaders are false?
No, none of these have been stated in the court ruling thus far. According to recent Rouse Avenue Court judgements, Rahul Joshi and Gautam Malhotra were granted bail after filing a bail plea. The court injunction solely applies to Rahul and Gautam’s involvement, and not the whole case. The bail of the two identified accused does not mean that the case is a sham and that all of the accused have been unfairly framed. Based on the decision to free the two bail applicants, the Aam Aadmi has been going around making statements that the court has agreed that the liquor scam is fake.
They are not citing the another judgement which was passed on April 28, after Manish Sisodia filed the bail application on April 20, which held him responsible for his involvement in the scam. The judgement of the Rouse Avenue Court had rejected the bail application filed by the jailed AAP leader stating that the applicant was not only the architect of the foregoing criminal conspiracy, but also the brain behind the inclusion of stipulations requiring a 12% profit margin for wholesalers and raising the qualifying criterion for wholesalers from Rs. 100 crores to Rs. 500 crores. He was responsible for keeping profit margin for retailers on a higher side i.e.185%.
Furthermore, the judgement states that during the investigation, it was discovered that the bribe amount received was spent or utilized in connection with the AAP’s election campaign in Goa, and that some cash payments through hawala channels were allegedly sent to Goa to cover the expenses. Moreover, while rejecting the bail application the court said that the evidence collected during the investigation points to Sisodia’s involvement in the money laundering case.
In a new development in the inquiry, the Rouse Avenue Court on Monday extended Manish Sisodia’s custody after he was brought before the court on the expiration of his previous judicial custody.
Hence, in accordance with the above mentioned facts, the claim that the court labelled the inquiry as fake is misleading. The court granted bail solely to the two accused applicants, not to all of the accused. Manish Sisodia is still being held in custody and has been identified as a significant criminal conspirator.
| Claim | The court said that the liquor policy scam is false |
| Claimed by | Aam Aadmi Party |
| Fact Check | Misleading |
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