Kejriwal referring to excise case bail order to shift focus from 'renovation scam': BJP

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The Delhi BJP Monday accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of trying to divert attention from the Rs 45-crore "scam" involving the renovation of his official residence by repeatedly referring to the bail granted to two accused in the excise policy case.

With the Delhi court repeatedly denying bail to his former deputy Manish Sisodia and the "loss of public image" due to the "bungalow scam", Kejriwal now is trying to create the perception that there is no liquor scam, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said.

"But people want to know if there is no liquor scam then why former deputy chief minister Sisodia is in jail," he added.

Sachdeva also challenged Kejriwal to a debate over the issue.

Addressing a press conference earlier, Kejriwal alleged that the excise policy case was a desperate attempt by the BJP to "malign an honest party like AAP".

The chief minister's remarks came after a Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to two accused in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.

The court said the evidence against the accused, Rajesh Joshi and Gautam Malhotra, was not sufficient for the case against them to be considered prima facie "genuine".

Also read: BJP won't be able to stop development in Delhi: Manish Sisodia

The Delhi BJP president further said Kejriwal seems to be under "heavy mental stress due to the total loss of his self-cultivated Aam Aadmi image after the exposure of his Raj Mahal scam and is therefore trying to divert public attention by repeatedly referring to the court order granting bail to two accused in the liquor scam".

It is surprising that Kejriwal and his "coterie" of AAP leaders are referring to a bail order of two accused to deny the liquor scam but are "ignoring" another court order denying bail to Manish Sisodia, he said.

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