Delhi excise policy ripples in state, govt wary of similar action

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, March 22

The shadow of the Delhi Excise Policy, which led to the arrest of AAP national convenor and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal last night, has once again created ripples in the corridors of power in the state.

No wrongdoing

We are not scared of any probe. The only thing that the probe will find is how the AAP Government eliminated liquor mafia, brought in small players in the business and increased the revenue by Rs 4,000 crore in just two years. Harpal Cheema, Excise minister

With allegations that the Punjab Excise Policy of 2022, when AAP took over the reins of the state, was a replica of the Delhi policy, both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have been investigating the matter. Though, no fresh summons to anyone involved in the preparation of the policy or its implementation have been issued, a fear psychosis has gripped many in the AAP government.

Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar has already declared that he would lead a delegation to the Election Commission to seek an ED probe into the excise policy of the state.

Excise Minister Harpal Cheema rubbished the charges of wrongdoing in the Punjab excise policy. “We are not scared of any probe. The only thing that the probe will find is how the AAP Government eliminated liquor mafia, brought in small players in the business and increased the revenue by Rs 4,000 crore in just two years,” added Cheema.

Earlier, the The CBI had sought prosecution sanction against two IAS officers involved in preparation of the excise policy last year, which was turned down by the state government in November 2023.

After the residences of two senior officers in the Excise Department were raided by the ED sleuths in September last year, they, along with another senior bureaucrat, were questioned by the ED on multiple occasions. However, for the past couple of months, the issue has been on the back burner.

It has been learnt that the ED sleuths were probing the grant of sole wholesale liquor licences for the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and Bottled in Origin brands to companies which were named in the Delhi Excise Policy scam. As a result, bulk of the liquor business was taken over by these companies.