The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ramped up its criticism of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after a leaked Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report surfaced, allegedly implicating the Delhi government in a massive scandal regarding the excise policy. This has intensified the political row ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections scheduled for February 5. The purported CAG report, which has not been officially released, claims that the city’s excise policy, under the leadership of former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, resulted in significant financial losses.
According to the leak, the Delhi government allegedly caused a loss of over Rs 2,026 crore to the state, which includes Rs 890 crore due to mishandling of liquor licenses and an additional Rs 941 crore linked to exemptions given to zonal licensees. The report also suggests that several key approvals were bypassed, including those from the Lieutenant Governor (LG), the Cabinet, and the Assembly. The Group of Ministers (GoM) led by Manish Sisodia is accused of disregarding recommendations from an expert panel.
The BJP has seized on these allegations, accusing the AAP government of widespread corruption and mismanagement. BJP leader Anurag Thakur criticized the AAP government for its failure to address key issues such as poor infrastructure, rising utility costs, and pollution, asserting that Delhi residents were eager for change.
In response, AAP leader Sanjay Singh raised doubts about the authenticity of the leaked CAG report, questioning whether it had been produced by the BJP itself. Singh demanded to know where the report was, highlighting inconsistencies in the BJP’s statements about the report’s status. Singh argued that the BJP was spreading confusion, with some claiming the report had not been tabled while others suggested it had been released.
