Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on February 19 sought time from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to appear for questioning in Delhi Excise policy case, according to news agency PTI.
The CBI on Saturday summoned the senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader for questioning on Sunday.
“I have written to the CBI and asked for time for February last week as I am finalising the budget of Delhi and it is a crucial time. I have told them that I will come after the last week of February,” he told reporters.
It’s my duty as Finance Minister to present the budget on time and I have been working 24 hours for it. I have requested the CBI to allow me to come after the last week of February and answer all their questions, he told reporters.
The development took a political turn, with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal stating that the case was only a political conspiracy, while the BJP is questioning why the policy was withdrawn if there was no scam.
“There was no liquor scam. It was the best policy in the country. The same policy was implemented in Punjab and the revenue increased by 48%. In Delhi, due to political vendetta, the case was made as a political conspiracy. Manish ji will go tomorrow and we will cooperate completely. In the end, truth will win,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
BJP MLA and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged that the contractors whose commission had increased from 2% to 12% under the policy have told the CBI that they were forced to give 6% commission back as donation to the AAP.
In August 2022, the CBI had registered a case against Mr. Sisodia and 14 others to probe the allegation of irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the since scrapped excise policy. It later arrested some key accused and filed a chargesheet against seven persons, including two Excise Department officials, in November 2022.