‘Were you party to the decision?’; CBI asked Kejriwal on Delhi excise policy

Was Arvind Kejriwal “party to the decision” taken at his residence to increase the profit margin for liquor wholesalers from 5% to 12%, officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation asked the Delhi chief minister during his preliminary questioning as a witness in the Delhi liquor policy scam, officials familiar with the matter said.

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The convener of the Aam Aadmi Party was interrogated by the federal agency on Sunday. Kejriwal was asked why there was need to change the old liquor policy, why approvals were given after the Delhi cabinet cleared the policy in April 2021 and why the new policy was withdrawn after the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe, the officials added, seeking anonymity.

CBI has not disclosed Kejriwal’s answers, but it issued a statement on Monday, saying his replies will be “verified and collated with the available evidence”.

Kejriwal, during questioning that lasted nine hours, was asked 56 questions by CBI sleuths seeking insights into an alleged conspiracy in which it is claimed that bribes worth ₹100 crore was paid to AAP leaders for favouring certain liquor wholesalers, retailers and politicians from south India.

A specific question, according to an officer, was put to Kejriwal about the profit margin, which according to statement recorded by former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s secretary C Arvind, was increased from 5% to 12% for wholesalers. The decision was conveyed to him at Kejriwal’s residence in mid-March 2021, C Arvind is believed to have said during his questioning.

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“It was important to know if the chief minister was party to the decision, which had never been discussed earlier. The old policy had a 5% profit margin. In fact, a draft note dated March 15, 2021, of the group of ministers formed by Delhi government, found from Manish Sisodia’s computer, capped the profit margin at 5%. However, the final draft of GoM given by Sisodia to C Arvind at the CM’s residence had an increased margin of 12%,” one of the officials said.

Former excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna is said to have claimed during his interrogation that the 12% profit margin was fixed for wholesalers by the ministerial group without any previous discussion or recommendation by the expert committee, this officer added.

Kejriwal’s questioning also revolved around ex post-facto decisions taken by the Delhi cabinet in 2021, after the lieutenant governor advised the government to re-examine the policy. The CBI also asked Kejriwal as to “who came up with the idea of changing the old excise policy” and why it was withdrawn in July 2022 end, days after the lieutenant governor recommended a probe in it, according to a second officer.

Another question put before Kejriwal focused on the Delhi government’s decision to fully introduce private players in the liquor business, as no such recommendation was made by an expert committee led by former excise commissioner R K Dhawan.

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“In fact, the GoM comprising Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Kailash Gehlot never had any discussions until mid-March 2021 about private players. So, the CM was asked how suddenly it was decided to hand over the entire liquor trade to private parties,” the second officer said.

Kejriwal was also asked about Vijay Nair, AAP’s communications in-charge, leading the discussions with private players before and after the tendering process and about his alleged conversation with arrested businessman Sameer Mahendru over FaceTime on Nair’s phone.

After his questioning, Kejriwal said on Sunday that the allegations of scam were fake and baseless and inspired by dirty politics. “AAP is hardcore honest,” the Delhi chief minister said. “Hardcore honesty is our basic ideology, and we will never compromise with it. This is the reason they want to throw mud at us.”

“The second reason is that they (the Bharatiya Janata Party) do not like the good work done in Delhi and Punjab. They cannot do the good work that we are doing. We are expanding. They want to finish the AAP. It cannot be done, the people of the country are with us,” Kejriwal added.

Also Read: CBI questions Kejriwal in Excise Policy case, here's what central agency said

The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business. It aimed to replace a sales-volume based regime with a license fee one for traders, and promised swankier stores, free of the infamous metal grilles, ultimately giving customers a better buying experience. The policy also introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor, a first for Delhi.

The plan, however, came to an abrupt end, with Delhi’s lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommending a probe into alleged irregularities in the regime. This ultimately resulted in the policy being scrapped prematurely and being replaced by the 2020-21 regime, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleging that Saxena’s predecessor sabotaged the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.