ED questions Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot in excise policy case

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday questioned Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot to ascertain facts on alleged tweaking of the excise policy 2021-22 to give undue favours to liquor companies.

Gahlot was a member of Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and constituted to draft now scrapped excise policy of the Delhi government.

• Also read: ED arrests three members of banned PFI in money-laundering case

The GoM, the agency had alleged, had not considered a report on the excise policy conceived by excise department of Delhi government to contain cartelisation of vendors. The Minister for transport, home and law, who reached ED office at 11.30 a.m, was asked questions for recording statement under the prevention of Money Laundering Act.

“There has been no such scam. Our party’s (AAP) stand has been this only. With time, you all will get convinced by this too,” Kailash Gahlot said after appearing before ED.

He also stated that he has answered all the questioned posed to him by the investigators and that he was not subjected to any cross-questioning.

“Whatever questions were asked to me, I answered all of them. The government bungalow was allotted to me in Civil Lines, but I have always stayed in my private residence in Vasant Kunj because my wife and kids didn’t want to move from there. Vijay Nair was living in the bungalow allotted to me. No cross-questioning was conducted. I appeared on my second summons,” Gahlot, the MLA from Najafgarh, said.

• Also read: ED’s shadow play, RSS concerns, and BJP’s ‘magnetic’ pull!

The Minister also informed that the ED had issued the first summon to him a month ago when Delhi assembly was in session. “I had sought some time,” he stated, while clarifying that he was never part of the Goa election campaign and was “unaware of what happened”.

The ED charged that the excise policy was leaked to the “South Group” liquor lobby, including Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha, who was arrested on March 15. This was six days before Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was detained for not complying with nine summons.

The agency has alleged that the South Group gave ₹100-crore kickbacks to the AAP and its leaders, which was used in Goa elections.

COMMENT NOW