Excise policy case desperate attempt by BJP to malign AAP: Kejriwal

PTI, May 8, 2023, 10:07 AM IST

The excise policy case is a desperate attempt by the BJP to ”malign an honest party like the AAP”, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday.

His remarks came after a Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to two accused in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.

The court said the evidence against the accused, Rajesh Joshi and Gautam Malhotra, was not sufficient for the case against them to be considered prima facie ”genuine”.

In a tweet, Kejriwal said, ”The whole liquor scam is false. We were saying it from beginning. Now even courts have started saying it. It’s a desperate measure by BJP to malign an honest party like AAP.” Reacting to the court order, the AAP had said on Saturday that it showed that the entire case is ”bogus”, and asked the BJP to tender an apology for levelling false allegations.

The BJP, however, accused senior AAP leaders of presenting a ”twisted and misleading” reference to the court order and demanded that contempt of court proceedings be initiated against them.