Arvind Kejriwal was questioned by the CBI for about nine hours on Sunday.
New Delhi:
On Sunday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for about nine hours in the liquor policy matter. He was questioned as a witness in the case, which investigators said involved corruption in policy formulation to benefit the liquor lobby. He has not been called for further questioning by the central agency so far.
Kejriwal told reporters after reaching home from CBI, “CBI asked me a total of 56 questions. Everything is fake. The case is fake. I am sure they have nothing on us, not a single piece of evidence.” ” Headquartered near Lodhi Road, Central Delhi.
Mr Kejriwal’s former deputy Manish Sisodia, who held the excise portfolio, was arrested in the same case last month.
Kejriwal said, “The CBI asked me everything from 2020 till the end of the year in which the liquor policy was implemented.” AAP) government today.
“This liquor policy issue is a lie, fabricated. Honesty is our ideology. We are ready to die but will not compromise on honesty. They are doing all this to defame us and our good, development work. We are a has become a national party. Now, that is the reason they are doing this to eliminate us,” Mr Kejriwal told reporters.
News agency ANI quoted sources as saying that while Kejriwal was being questioned by the CBI, AAP called an emergency meeting of senior leaders this evening in which he could be arrested.
AAP leaders including Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh were detained by the Delhi Police for protesting near the CBI office. He was freed as soon as Kejriwal came out.
Chadha said, “BJP suffers from Kejriwal phobia. It is because of Kejriwal’s fear that BJP has resorted to such an act. It is a cowardly act. We are not afraid of jail.”
The CBI has said Mr Sisodia’s then secretary told investigators that the draft liquor policy was given to him by the now-arrested leader at Mr Kejriwal’s house in March 2021.
Bureaucrat C Arvind has given the statement before a magistrate, making it admissible evidence in court. The CBI wanted Mr Kejriwal’s statement on the meeting, as it allegedly took place at his house.
The excise policy was approved by the Delhi government after an inquiry was ordered by the then Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. Approval was granted after being postponed twice. CBI wants to know the reason for this.
The Delhi government scrapped the new liquor policy in July 2022, less than a year after it was introduced, and reverted to the old policy.