Kejriwal Government responsible for the chaos created by change in the Liquor Policy : Ch. Anil Kumar

NEW DELHI, August 1, 2022—Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ch. Anil Kumar said that the Delhi Government’s focus has  been shifted to protect the interest of the liquor mafia who, in the past six months, had made the city notorious for liquor consumption by offering massive rebate on every bottle purchased, but the abrupt change in the liquor policy has created chaos across Delhi. He said that the decision to extend the new Liquor Policy by one more month was taken late last night due to the pressure exerted by the liquor cartels. He said that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Excise Minister Manish Sisodia took a unilateral decision to extend the existing Liquor Policy by one more month and the LG was forced to approve it so as to prevent  black marketing of liquor bottles and sale of spurious liquor in the Capital. He said that the entire liquor policy was turned upside down within a week after the Lt. Governor ordered a CBI probe into the liquor deals. He said that the Congress workers and the general public had been waging a sustained agitation against the new Liquor Policy for the past six months, but when the LG ordered a CBI probe into the corrupt liquor deals, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the brain behind the liquor deals, got scared as he feared that he will meet the same fate as Minister Satyender Jain, who has been in jail for the past two months, in a money-laundering case.

Ch. Anil Kumar demanded the immediate dismissal of Sisodia from the Delhi Cabinet for his role in handing over the Capital’s liquor business to the liquor mafia for a price, involving thousands of crores.  He said that the abrupt change in the liquor policy has created total chaos, and black marketing of liquor bottles was rampant. He said that the private vendors, who enjoyed complete control of the liquor trade in Delhi in the manufacture, wholesale and retail trades, pushed up cheap liquor brands in violation of established norms to ruin the health of the people. He said that the Kejriwal Government made a mockery of the Delhi Master Plan by opening 216 new liquor vends in non-confirming areas in 18 Assembly.

Ch. Anil Kumar said that for the past few months, the Kejriwal Government has been busy making the availability of liquor ‘universal’ in the Capital, instead of addressing pressing problems affecting the people, including health, price rise, education and unemployment. He said that  Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been roaming like a free bird without any responsibility, as he holds no portfolio, and  most of his time was spent in other States, including Punjab, for various corrupt deals. As a result, governance suffered in Delhi.