Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), led by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit seeking a probe by the CBI and ED into the ‘Rs 500 crore scam in the state's excise policy’.
Sukhbir, after submitting the memorandum to the Governor, alleged that the AAP-led Punjab Government framed the “tailor-made” excise policy in line with the one in Delhi which had been found “illegal” and under the CBI scanner.
Notably, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena in July had recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Excise Policy 2021-22. Following this, the AAP-led Delhi Government withdrew the new liquor policy only recently.
“Like in Delhi, a similar scam has taken place in Punjab. It is a scam of Rs 500 crore...We have requested the Governor to order probes by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the excise policy scam in Punjab,” said Sukhbir.
SAD chief claimed that the AAP Government in Punjab followed the ‘Delhi Model’ while framing the state’s excise policy and some senior Punjab officials had held a meeting with Sisodia for framing the policy.
The party, in its memorandum, stated that the Government’s “revamped excise policy is akin to the Delhi policy and that the same modus operandi is used to give control of the liquor trade to henchmen in return for kickbacks running into hundreds of crores”.