Kejriwal kingpin in excise… AAP’s habit to shoot & scoot: Anurag Thakur at Idea Exchange

Thakur has been at the forefront of the BJP’s political attack on AAP on the excise policy, which has been withdrawn. Responding to a question, he alleged that the AAP has “eaten money” in the implementation of the policy and withdrew it when it stopped giving financial benefits. “I still say Arvind Kejriwal is the kingpin. I say it with responsibility. He is the Chief Minister. Who will take the responsibility when one of your ministers is accused?” Thakur asked.

“The AAP is a party of high and lows — high on liquor, lies and deceit, and low on morals as well as on ethics. It has become a habit for them to shoot and scoot,” Thakur, a Lok Sabha MP from Himachal Pradesh, said.

“Have I got answers to the five questions that we have raised on them over the liquor scam? I, as a BJP MP, have the right to ask questions on the liquor scam. But the accused in the scam, (Deputy Chief Minister) Manish Sisodia, and the kingpin of the liquor scam, Arvind Kejriwal, did not say even a word for the last five-seven days.”

Asserting that both the BJP and its leaders will raise questions “when there is corruption”, Thakur said: “When they are looting, we have to raise questions because there is corruption. Their first Health Minister (Satyendar Jain) is in jail, their Health Minister in Punjab (Vijay Singla) is in jail. The Excise Minister (Sisodia) is an accused. Despite the corruption they committed, they have lost all limits of decency because they are drunk on power. They are not answering the questions.”

Asked about evidence to substantiate the allegations that AAP had benefited from the distribution of liquor licences and that the money was used to fight the Punjab elections, Thakur said: “Proof is in the documents of the Delhi government. Why was there a deviation from the policy? They (the expert panel) had given a notice on October 25, 2021… what action was taken? There were clear recommendations that the manufacturer, retailer and distributor cannot be one. The commission (for the government) was raised from two to 12 percent. When poor people were running away from Delhi (during the Covid lockdown), the Delhi government had given Rs 144 crore (in the form of waivers) to liquor vendors. It should have gone to the Delhi exchequer. Why were they refunded? If it was such a good policy, why was it withdrawn?”

Thakur reiterated that the AAP “pocketed the money” and “insulted the people of Delhi” by withdrawing the policy when it stopped yielding benefit.

Justifying the attack on AAP, Thakur said that as an elected representative and the representative of a political party, he has the right to raise questions. “You have to put the facts, when things are wrong, before the public from the right platform — be it Parliament or the street. I have no personal fight — as a representative of the party and elected member, I have a responsibility. The system will take steps,” he said.

The AAP government in Delhi has been embroiled in the excise policy row since July 8, when Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar submitted a report to Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, accusing Sisodia of providing undue benefits to liquor vend licensees in lieu of alleged “kickbacks” and “commissions”.

After L-G Saxena recommended an investigation by the CBI, Sisodia announced on July 30 that the new policy was being scrapped from August 1, and that only government-owned vends would be allowed to sell alcohol in the national capital.

According to AAP, the case against Sisodia and others is part of the Centre’s “vendetta politics”. Denying allegations of corruption in the policy, Sisodia had referred to the raids against Delhi officials and AAP leaders and said that it “is clear that their (BJP’s) intention is not to fight or talk about corruption”.

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At the Idea Exchange on Friday, Thakur, who is the son of former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal, was also asked if he felt any “discomfort” when the BJP leadership speaks against dynasty politics. “Not at all. I am an MP who has been elected four times. I don’t use my father’s surname.. I am proud of what my father has achieved, from being a farmer to a professor to the chief minister,” he said.

“Yes, I had an advantage. But when you talk about dynasty, it’s about the political parties that are run by families. It’s not about one seat… There they are holding power from Mulayam Singhji to Akhilesh (Samajwadi Party), from Karunanidhi to M K Stalin (DMK). Similarly, N Chandrababu Naidu to others (TDP), from Mamata Banerjee to Abhishek Banerjee (TMC) and Pandit Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi to Sonia Gandhi to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi (Congress)… They are holding power for so many years,” he said.

“In the BJP, you will not find this… it is the karyakarta who gets to the leadership. It’s J P Naddaji today (as BJP president), it was Nitin Gadkari earlier, Rajnath Singhji… They don’t come from a political family… They were not holding power for 60 years,” Thakur said.