New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday revived the legacy of former chief minister Sheila Dikshit to target both the ruling AAP and the BJP over the ongoing liquor scam probe.
“Eight months after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal praised his new liquor policy, his government had to withdraw it. Why was the liquor policy withdrawn if it was so good? In the end, the earlier liquor policy operational during former chief minister Sheila Dikshit turned out to be reliable,” AICC spokesperson Ragini Nayak said.
“Kejriwal used to allege corruption under the former chief minister but has taken no action since coming to power which shows his hollow charges,” she said. The Congress ruled Delhi for 15 years under then chief minister Sheila Dikshit before she was defeated by Arvind Kejriwal in 2013. Since then, the Congress has been marginalized in Delhi politics where the newcomer AAP had also pushed the BJP aside.
The BJP had launched an attack on the AAP since the CBI registered a case, including deputy CM Manish Sisodia. To counter that, the Congress claimed that it had been protesting against the controversial liquor policy right from day one but no one took note of it and alleged that the BJP leaders tried to take benefit from the new policy by getting people licenses in the non-conforming (rural) areas in violation of the Delhi master plan.
Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary said: “We got feedback from women who were opposed to the opening of liquor shops in every nook and corner of the city. They were lathi charges when they opposed the new liquor policy. We took up the protests against the new liquor policy first but the administration did not take note of it.”
“The BJP leaders who have now jumped into the blame game were silent when the new liquor policy was in operation. Instead, their leaders helped people get licenses in the non-conforming (rural) areas, which was a complete violation of the Delhi master plan,” he said.
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Chaudhary claimed that he submitted a written complaint to then Delhi police commissioner Rakesh Asthana in June over the new liquor policy, which is now being probed. A month later, the chief secretary suggested a CBI probe to the LG, said the Congress leader. The Congress leaders took potshots at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal saying he was trying to shield his deputy as the CM is directly linked to the liquor scam.
“Kejriwal is suggesting that Sisodia should get a Bharat Ratna. Instead, I would recommend a Bharat Ratna for him over corruption,” said Chaudhary. He also slammed Sisodia for mentioning the name Maharana Pratap to invoke caste politics when faced with corruption charges. “Taking shelter in the name of Maharana Pratap is deplorable. They came to power promising a new style of politics,” he said.
Ragini Nayak threw two questions at AAP as she alleged double standards in the Delhi government over corruption. “If your liquor policy was right, why did you withdraw it. Your health minister in Punjab is in jail for corruption. But that was done only to get benefit in the Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll. Your health minister in Delhi Satyendra Jain is in jail for corruption. Your deputy CM Sisodia is facing charges of corruption. The AAP should take the resignation of both Jain and Sisodia,” she said.
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The Congress leaders also slammed Sisodia for recently claiming that the BJP had offered him the CM post if he was ready to break the AAP and urged Kejriwal to come out clean on the matter. “This seems like a fixed match between the BJP and the AAP for the coming Himachal Pradesh polls. If there is truth in Sisodia’s allegations they should make public the names of people who offered the CM chair and asked him to do a repeat of Maharashtra in Delhi,” said Nayak.
“You reap what you sow,” she said. Nayak was referring to the recent change of guard in Maharashtra where Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde became CM with the help of the BJP, ousting then CM Uddhav Thackeray. Chaudhary demanded that Kejriwal should apologize to the former CM as her liquor policy has been proved to be correct, saying that the new policy of AAP did not bring in any additional revenue as claimed by the government.
“They cited that Delhi would be revenue surplus as a result of the new liquor policy. That has not happened. Kejriwal should say sorry to Sheila ji as her liquor policy has been proved to be correct,” said the Delhi Congress chief. “It is very surprising that when the probe is all about the liquor policy, they are talking about the education policy. If we compare the two education policies, the standard of education in Delhi schools was far better during the Congress government against the claims being made by the AAP,” he said.
