Ashish Ranjan
The Delhi government extended its controversial “old excise policy” by six months on Wednesday. In the interim, the AAP government has instructed relevant officials to draught a new excise policy.
In related news, the Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear a petition filed by BRS MLC Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, challenging her summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi Excise Policy case. However, the supreme court denied her interim relief in the matter. On March 24, the court is scheduled to hear her defence.
Moments after opposition leaders began their march to the Enforcement Directorate office in New Delhi, police officials proclaimed that they were enforcing Section 144 of the CrPC in the Vijay Chowk area and that protests would not be permitted there. The opposition leaders called for the protest march to deliver a complaint about the Adani issue to the investigative agency.
The November 2021 implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 altered the manner in which alcohol was sold in the city, with the government withdrawing from the industry and permitting only private operators to operate liquor stores.There were 32 zones in Delhi where businesses could submit bids for a licence. Through an open tendering process, the excise department issued licences to 849 retail vendors in total.
Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) opposed the new excise policy vehemently for moral and ethical reasons. Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena also demanded a CBI investigation into the affair, compelling the Delhi government to rescind its new liquor policy on July 30.
Also Read | India 8th in worst air quality,Lahore tops list of most polluted city
Manish Sisodia, the former deputy chief minister and minister in control of the Delhi Excise department, was recently arrested by the ED in connection with an alleged liquor scam.
