Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the shelved excise policy, stating that while the party’s government in Delhi boasted of its work with paathshalas (schools), it was madhushalas (liquor vends) that far outstripped them.
On a day when the Delhi Assembly in a special session discussed the issue of raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Mr. Thakur questioned the “silence” of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his colleague on queries raised by him [Mr. Thakur] over the “scam”, now being probed by the CBI.
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“The liquor scam has unmasked the AAP and showed how it is neck deep in corruption. Why are its leaders not answering the questions raised by us over its excise policy,” Mr. Thakur said. The AAP government should answer why ₹144 crore was returned to liquor dealers, apart from ₹30 crore earnest money, he said.
“If the excise policy was correct, then why was it withdrawn? The truth is, serious corruption has occurred. Their Health Minister is in jail on corruption charges and the ‘liquor minister’ is under probe. What kind of impact such a Minister will have on education,” Mr. Thakur said.
Mr. Sisodia is in-charge of the Excise as well as Education Ministries in the Government of Delhi. “If a Minister is busy expanding liquor stores, then can he be expected to focus on education?” Mr. Thakur said.
With the AAP government claiming to have made a big impact on the education sector, Mr. Thakur alleged, “Education is in their words while it is liquor which drives their work.”
