AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh tore into the ruling BJP government on Friday, terming the party the “real beneficiary” of the alleged Delhi liquor scam — a case in which Mr. Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) six months ago and granted bail on Tuesday.
Alleging that the BJP had committed the “real liquor scam” after the ED began its investigation into the case, the AAP leader said the proof was in the money trail revealed by the electoral bonds data, which was released by the State Bank of India (SBI) last month.
However, the Delhi BJP rubbished Mr. Singh’s claims, saying he had “exposed himself” while conducting a “political drama”.
‘Witness tampering’
According to Mr. Singh, the ED had “used force” on witnesses to change their statements in the case.
“Take [TDP Lok Sabha candidate] Magunta Reddy, for example. He and his son, Raghav Magunta, collectively gave ten statements to the ED, where they spoke the truth. But after that, when his son Raghav was put in jail for five months, Mr. Reddy’s statements suddenly changed,” Mr. Singh said, adding: “When Raghav became an approver and testified against [Delhi CM Arvind] Kejriwal on July 16, 2023 and became a part of BJP’s conspiracy to finish AAP, he got bail two days later, on July 18.”
The AAP leader also said the other key approver in the case, Sarath Reddy, was initially referred to by the BJP as the “kingpin” of the scam.
“When Sarath Reddy’s house was raided and he was put in jail for nearly six months, he buckled under ED pressure and testified against Mr. Kejriwal on April 25,” Mr. Singh said.
Saying he had “connected the dots” of the conspiracy behind the CM’s arrest, Mr. Singh alleged that after the first “bounty” of ₹5 crore from the alleged liquor scam reached the BJP on November 15, 2022, after the ED had begun its probe into the matter, the ruling party received another ₹55 crore bribe through electoral bonds by Sarath Reddy.
“The money trail of ₹55 crore was exposed when the Supreme Court ordered SBI to release the details of the electoral bonds. Immediately after BJP’s role in the scam was exposed, Arvind Kejriwal’s house was raided at 7 p.m. on March 21. They arrested him after two-and-a-half hours of interrogation to divert the public’s attention from their scam,” the AAP leader claimed.
‘Can’t turn lies to truth’
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva refuted Mr. Singh’s allegations, and said that AAP leaders have become “synonymous with lies, looting, cunningness, and deceit”.
“AAP should know that shouting loudly and conducting media trials cannot turn lies into truth. Sanjay Singh needs to explain whether there was a meeting between him and the members of the Restaurant Owners Association on the night when the liquor policy was being modified, and whether money was collected from them or not,” he said.
Lok Sabha MP and BJP leader Manoj Tiwari said the BJP would bring out a “white paper” on the scam. “The liquor scam is a big loot conducted by the AAP, but no one will escape,” he said.
