Punjab excise policy may also come under scrutiny with the shadow of Delhi excise case looming over it following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday night.

With the opposition parties in Punjab, BJP and the Akali Dal, taking aims at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and demanding to probe the state’s excise policy also, the state’s Finance, Excise and Taxation Minister and senior AAP leader Harpal Singh Cheema on Friday asserted his readiness to face any investigation into the matter.

Punjab’s opposition parties have all along been demanding probe into the state’s excise policy for 2022-23, “similar to Delhi’s 2021-22 liquor policy”. The opposition maintained that both the policies, that of Punjab and Haryana, were drafted by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and his team. Allegations were leveled that the policy was “tailor-made” to select a few contractors.

Sisodia is currently behind bars after he was arrested in March 2023 in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy for 2021-22.

In fact, Kejriwal had himself confirmed on Twitter (now X) that the excise policies of both Punjab and Delhi are same. “…the excise policy which had to be scrapped in Delhi is working wonders in Punjab”.

Defending the policy vehemently, Cheema highlighted a substantial surge in revenue from excise duties, amounting to a staggering Rs 4,000 crore over the past two years. He further claimed that the state’s stringent policy measures have effectively dismantled the entrenched liquor mafia operating within its borders.

The Finance Minister’s robust defense comes in the wake of growing concerns over the ramifications of the Delhi Excise case, which has sent shockwaves across political circles. Cheema's stance underscored the Punjab Government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in governance, even in the face of external pressures and scrutiny.

A day after Kejriwal’s arrest in connection with the excise policy linked money laundering case in Delhi, BJP and SAD on Friday sought an investigation into Punjab excise policy.

Demanding a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Punjab’s excise policy, the state BJP president Sunil Jakhar declared that the party delegation will go to Election Commission's (EC) office on Saturday afternoon to seek an investigation into Punjab’s policy.

“A BJP delegation will go to EC at 12 noon tomorrow. Many ministers and leaders of Delhi are lodged in jails due to the policy. The same policy has been replicated in Punjab. ED should take action in this matter in Punjab as well. All the like-minded people of Punjab should come together on this issue. Many Congress leaders had demanded a probe into the case and they too should approach the Commission. The Chief Minister's residence should be sealed and inspected,” said Jakhar.

“Punjab Excise Policy is a bigger malaise than Delhi's now defunct policy,” said Jakhar, lashing out at Punjab Chief Minister for letting the open loot and plunder of state “being run on proxy by Kejriwal’s henchmen, including Raghav Chadha, who have been given plum houses in posh sectors out of CM quota”.

“I would urge ED to protect those honest officers who have been coerced to sign on the dotted line on a flawed policy document, which is part of a failed and so-called Delhi governance model touted by AAP as a shield for their corrupt ways,” he added.

SAD’s Bathinda MP and former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal also demanded a central probe into Punjab Excise policy on the pattern of the Delhi policy “as both policies as well as the beneficiaries were the same”.

“With the arrest of self-proclaimed ‘kattar imandar’ Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi excise policy scam, now the time had come to arrest all those who had looted the Punjab treasury by effecting the same scam in Punjab. Liquor excise policy of Punjab was patterned on the Delhi policy by the same persons and with the same beneficiaries,” she said.

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In Kejriwal’s absence, responsibility shifts on Mann

Chandigarh: Following the arrest of AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a liquor scam case, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) finds itself grappling with a leadership crisis and logistical challenges, particularly in Punjab, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

With key leaders like Kejriwal, Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh already in jail and embroiled in legal troubles already in connection with the same scam, AAP faces a leadership vacuum. This creates a significant challenge for the party, especially in terms of campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

AAP is facing a shortage of prominent campaigners, impacting its electoral strategies — potentially impacting the party’s ability to attract voters and generate enthusiasm among supporters, especially in Punjab where AAP lacks prominent faces.

With Kejriwal out of the picture, the responsibility for leading the election campaign falls on Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Mann would now be leading the election campaign in Punjab, and also in other states where AAP has stakes.

In a major move, AAP has decided to field five Cabinet Ministers as candidates in the upcoming elections. However, the party is encountering difficulties in selecting suitable candidates for all five constituencies in Punjab, despite being in power.

The arrest of Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate further exacerbated AAP’s challenges, intensifying its troubles and raising concerns about its electoral prospects. Nevertheless, Mann remained optimistic, affirming AAP’s commitment to campaigning with full vigour and ensuring a strong presence in Punjab's political landscape.                                                       Monika Malik

INDIA bloc stand strong, says Mann; “Will meet EC, hold joint events”

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who reached Delhi on Friday to meet the family of his Delhi counterpart and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal a day after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy, declared that the Aam Aadmi Party stood rock solid behind him.

Also lashing out at the BJP and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mann alleged that they were pursuing “dictatorship” and did not want any opposition leader to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls. Mincing now words, he said that BJP indulged in maximum hate speech in the country. “The one who bought a health revolution in the country, built hospitals, Satyender Jain is in jail; the one who built schools in Delhi, made lakhs of poor children eligible for NEET, IT, and MBBS, Manish Sisodia is in jail. The one who spoke against Prime Minister Modi in the Rajya Sabha, Sanjay Singh is inside the jail; and now Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested. I don't understand if there is even a democracy in the country,” said Mann.

“BJP indulges in the maximum hate speech in the country. We (AAP) do politics of work not the politics of name,” said Mann.

“They want no opposition leaders to be able to campaign for the upcoming elections. He (Prime Minister Modi) is walking in the footsteps of Vladimir Putin. This is a dictatorship,” added Mann.

Calling Kejriwal a “patriot”, Mann added that he will emerge from this episode a bigger leader.

Mann said that he will continue to attend the meetings of the opposition bloc INDIA as he used to do along with Kejriwal in the past. “The INDIA bloc stands strong in this hour and in the coming days, we will meet EC (Election Commission) and hold joint events,” said Mann.

Condemning the BJP, he said that it was scared of the AAP and Kejriwal. “It's an illusion of the BJP that they can derail the AAP through the arrest of Kejriwal. Crores of Kejriwal have been born in the country in the last 10 years,” he said.