BJP launches fresh attack on AAP over excise 'scam', links liquor trader with Kejriwal

BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia showed a picture of one Karamjeet Singh Lamba with Kejriwal and AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj and said he was not only a partner in Universal Distributors that was awarded liquor contract but he also contested local body polls on AAP ticket.

New Delhi:The BJP on Tuesday claimed that a person close to AAP leadership was awarded liquor contract under its now-withdrawn excise policy, as it launched a fresh attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the alleged excise row. During a press conference, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia showed a picture of one Karamjeet Singh Lamba with Kejriwal and AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj and said he was not only a partner in Universal Distributors that was awarded liquor contract but he also contested a local body polls on AAP ticket.

Kejriwal should explain why his government distributed "revdi" (freebies) of corruption to people close to him and his party, Bhatia said. He alleged that the Delhi government flouted rules and did not maintain transparency in awarding the liquor contracts. There was no immediate reaction from Lamba.

The AAP has asserted that the allegations of corruption in framing the excise policy, now being probed by the CBI, was the BJP's political vendetta as it was rattled by Kejriwal and his party's political rise. Universal Distributors, Bhatia added, was also one of the major beneficiaries of the AAP government's decision to allegedly withdraw Rs 144 crore due to liquor traders.

Its share was Rs 66 crore, he said. The BJP will continue to expose Kejriwal's corruption, he said, labelling the chief minister as "kattar beimaan". (PTI)