New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal acted as a "middleman for the liquor lobby", Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva alleged on Tuesday after a CAG report tabled in the Assembly said there was a cumulative loss of over Rs 2,000 crore due to the 2021-2022 excise policy.

Senior AAP leader and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Atishi, however, defended the now-scrapped excise policy brought by the Kejriwal government. She cited a CAG report to claim the policy in place before that was marred by corruption and smuggling.

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Addressing a press conference along with BJP MPs Manoj Tiwari and Praveen Khandelwal, the Delhi BJP chief said the report has exposed the "loot, corruption, and deception" of the previous AAP government over the past decade.

He alleged the Kejriwal administration had been deliberately withholding the report to conceal financial irregularities. But with its release, the truth is now out in the open, Sachdeva said.

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The performance audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on the regulation and supply of liquor in the national capital has showed lapses in the functioning of the excise department and its policy, leading to revenue losses exceeding Rs 2,026.91 crore. It was tabled during the first session of the newly-elected Delhi Assembly on Tuesday.

Sachdeva alleged that mismanagement led to additional losses, including Rs 941.53 crore due to the non-opening of liquor shops in non-conforming wards, Rs 890 crore from the failure to re-tender surrendered licenses, Rs 144 crore waived for zonal licensees under the pretext of COVID-19 relief, and Rs 27 crore lost due to improper security deposit collection.

Wholesale licenses were distributed in violation of rules, allowing retailers and manufacturers to benefit at the cost of government revenue, the Delhi BJP chief alleged.

He claimed that Kejriwal's policies ensured higher profit margins for wholesalers while reducing the government's earnings, ultimately benefiting private entities over public interest.

Sachdeva stated that the BJP government would ensure a thorough investigation into the "irregularities" exposed by the CAG report and those responsible for the "scam" would be held accountable.

"The people of Delhi will now witness real governance and Kejriwal's political downfall has begun," he added.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari described the alleged liquor scam as even bigger than the Rs 214-crore fodder scam that led to the conviction of former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The scale of corruption in Delhi's excise policy was at least ten times higher, he claimed and demanded strict legal action against those responsible.

Tiwari alleged that the previous AAP government avoided the presentation of the CAG report in the Assembly for years, fearing that its findings would expose large-scale financial misconduct.

Khandelwal echoed similar concerns and alleged that the Kejriwal government had allowed a systematic "loot" of Delhi's excise revenue for over a decade.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)