Indian investigating agency to question Delhi chief minister in liquor policy case

NEW DELHI, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that he would present himself before India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which has summoned him in the liquor policy case.

"I have received summon from the CBI. I will certainly honor it," Kejriwal told a press conference, saying that he would go to the premier investigating agency on Sunday.

Kejriwal, also leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), said investigating agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI "lied" on oath and affidavit, and presented "false" evidence in court about the alleged scam.

"They are saying a bribe of 1 billion rupees was taken. But they have not found a single rupee. Then they said it was used in Goa elections, they did raids and did not find anything," he said. "Where is the proof of this? All our payments were made with cheques. Show me a single rupee of the 1 billion rupees you claim we got."

The CBI has filed a case and is investigating the Delhi Excise Policy launched in November 2021, under which liquor shop licenses were handed over to private players.

Kejriwal said the same liquor policy was implemented in Punjab by the AAP and there the revenue increased by 50 percent.

"The same policy, which they call corrupt, was introduced in Punjab and has resulted in a 50-percent increase in revenue. It was a game-changing and transparent policy," he said.

Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, two AAP senior leaders, are presently in jail. Sisodia was arrested in February this year on corruption charges in the liquor policy case, and Jain was arrested in May 2022 over money laundering.