Excise policy: BJP challenges CM Arvind Kejriwal to undergo lie detector test

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. Pic/PTI

The BJP on Sunday mounted a fresh attack on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the Delhi excise policy issue and asked him to prove his "honesty" by undergoing a lie detector test as sought by jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.

Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala targeted Kejriwal on the issue of alleged scams and said a 'Lootera' film directed by the Delhi chief minister was going on in the national capital for the last eight years.

Referring to the 2013 Ranveer Singh starrer 'Lootera', the party also shared a poster on Twitter which showcased Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as 'Lootera'.

Poonawala's remarks came a day after Kejriwal said the BJP should make Chandrashekhar its national president as he was speaking the same language as the party.

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"It's a good chance for Kejriwal to undergo a lie detector test along with his ministers Satyendar Jain and Kailash Gahlot in a live telecast and prove Chandrashekhar's claims wrong," he said.

Chandrashekhar has written letters to the LG, levelling various allegations of extortion against AAP leaders and said he was ready for a lie detector test along with Kejriwal and his ministers.

Poonawala said Kejriwal can prove his honesty through a lie detector test but he would not do it.

He could have approached the court for quashing of FIR in "liquor scam" but he did not do so either, he said.

"The cast of Lootera film directed by Kejriwal has Manish Sisodia who is an accused in the liquor scam case," he said and claimed the Kejriwal government's now scrapped Excise Policy 2021-22 caused a loss of Rs 1800 crore to the state exchequer.

"The AAP has never cared to answer the BJP's questions on corruption in the policy that during its 7.5 months operation led to loss of Rs 1800 crore to the government," he said.

Kejriwal has also failed to tell the people why he withdrew the Excise Policy 2021-22, he added.

The alleged irregularities in the policy are currently being probed by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate.

Kejriwal had said on Saturday, "This policy was supposed to be extended from July 31. All officers were threatened to not grant extension. We were forced to take it back. The same policy has been implemented in Punjab where there has been a 48 per cent increase in revenue".

Supporting his deputy Sisodia, who is being probed in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise policy by the investigating agencies, Kejriwal had claimed that 800 CBI and ED officers are working for the last few months to arrest Sisodia.

"They didn't find accounted cash anywhere. They even raided his village thinking that he might have bought some land there but did not find anything. They have conducted 500 raids. Please educate me on what scam happened," he had said.