Salient points of press conference of Hon'ble Union Minister Smt. Smriti Irani

Salient points of Union Minister Smt Smriti Irani’s press conference

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Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the kingpin of corruption, is now finally facing the law for not honoring the respect of the summons sent to him 9 times

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Arvind Kejriwal and his actions define the administrative approach to tackling corruption from a constitutional standpoint

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 Enforcement Directorate referenced several financial transactions in court, but Arvind Kejriwal and his lawyers did not refute this fact

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The guilt of Arvind Kejriwal has been proven, and rather than playing the blame game, he should now face the law

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Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt Smriti Irani addressed a press conference at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s headquarters in New Delhi on Friday. During the press conference, Smt Smriti Irani emphasized the alleged corruption cases involving Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, such as liquor policy manipulation and government resource misuse. Smt Irani condemned the AAP for allegedly using the ₹45 crore corruption money from the liquor policy in the Goa election campaign. She emphasized that the claims against Kejriwal were robust and were not rebutted by his advocate.

BJP Senior leader Smt Smriti Irani questioned how an individual (Arvind Kejriwal) holding a constitutional position, who does not adhere to the truth, can define corruption through political means. Smt Irani pointed out that details of Arvind Kejriwal's misconduct and wrongdoings are uncovered now. Smt Smriti Irani expressed her distress over the revelations of corruption involving Arvind Kejriwal in recent media reports. According to the reports presented in court, it was alleged that Vijay Nair, identified by Kejriwal, collaborated with specific liquor companies to influence excise policies. Additionally, Sameer Mahendru was accused of embezzling one crore rupees from M/s Radha Industries, with allegations that he transferred funds to Vijay Nair amounting to  ₹ 2- 4 crores. Smt Irani mentioned that none of Arvind Kejriwal's legal representatives refuted these details

Smt Irani stated that even in the recent court proceedings regarding cases filed against Arvind Kejriwal under PMLA and CBI, his lawyers failed to present any significant arguments. Smt Irani disclosed certain aspects of the Arvind Kejriwal case to the media. On September 4, 2020, under Manish Sisodia's directives, the Delhi government established an expert committee chaired by the former Excise Commissioner. This committee submitted its report on October 13, 2020, which was subsequently made public on December 31, 2020. Following this, 14,671 suggestions based on the report were presented to Arvind Kejriwal's Council of Ministers on February 5, 2021. Notably, key ministers among them included Manish Sisodia, Satyendra Jain, and Kailash Gehlot. The documents submitted to the court clearly demonstrate that alterations were made to these records without justification, and the revised report was never disclosed to the public.

Union Minister Smt Smriti Irani stated that secretary of Manish Sisodia acknowledged being summoned to Kejriwal's residence on December 7, 2022, where, in the presence of Arvind Kejriwal and Satyendra Jain, he was handed a 30-page document to serve as the Council of Ministers' report. This document contained detailed information regarding the issuance of licenses to liquor companies and profit margins.

Smt Irani stated that on February 23, 2023, the CA of BRS leader K. Kavitha, Butchi Babu, released a statement alleging that Vijay Nair, known as 'My boy' by Arvind Kejriwal, presented provisions to manipulate the liquor policy to ensure profit for K. Kavitha. WhatsApp chats of Bucchi Babu regarding the offer were presented in court, which were not refuted by Kejriwal's lawyers. According to publicly available documents, Kejriwal allegedly solicited a bribe from the 'South Group'.

Union Minister Smt Smriti Irani while referring to MS Reddy's statement on December 16, 2021, claimed that Kejriwal approached him, mentioning that the Delhi government was inviting business ventures and was approached by K. Kavitha, who proposed giving  ₹100 crore to Kejriwal government. Afterward, K. Kavitha allegedly asked MS Reddy to provide  ₹ 50 crore on March 20th. The documents further revealed that ₹25 crore was given to close confidants of K. Kavitha named Bucchi Babu and Abhishek Bonpalli. She added that the statement presented in court was not rebutted by Kejriwal’s lawyer.

Smt Smriti Irani criticized AAP leaders and spokespersons who questioned the whereabouts of the money, highlighting that the ED has submitted all money transaction records in court. She referred to a statement from Sarath Reddy on April 25, 2023, claiming that he wanted to meet Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal regarding investments and was introduced to them with the help of Vijay Nair. She added that Vijay Nair's alleged involvement in the scam was publicized, and the High Court denied bail to him due to the severity of the case.

 

Smt Irani alleged that out of the money from the policy, the Kejriwal government utilized 45 crore rupees in the Goa election campaign. This amount was determined through multiple IT department raids, Hawala links, and different call records, as clarified by the CBI in its supplementary chargesheet presented in court. Furthermore, the Kejriwal lawyers did not deny the allegations. According to records, from August 2021 to January 2022, on 18 different occasions, 17 crore rupees were exchanged, and from June 2021 to December 2021, on 16 different occasions, 27 crore rupees were exchanged, allowing the AAP to use corruption money in the Goa campaign elections. The money was transferred through four routes: ₹12 crore, ₹16 crore, ₹7.1 crore, ₹7.2 crore, and ₹2 crore. It was distributed through ad agencies for the campaign, area managers, survey managers, and assembly managers. The lawyers and legal advisors of Arvind Kejriwal did not provide a rebuttal to any of the data presented against him in court. Smt Irani stated that if the allegations against Kejriwal were false, why did his three advocates not defend him in court?

Union Minister Smt Irani claimed that Arvind Kejriwal came with promises of change and transparency. However, instead of fulfilling those promises, he allegedly defrauded the public using state instruments. Today, he stands in front of the law to be prosecuted for his crimes.  The Kingpin of the crime was finally brought to justice.

Union Minister Smt Smriti Irani claimed that in the Manish Sisodia vs CBI case,  the Supreme Court while denying bail to Manish Sisodia, wrote in its observation that there is a total scam of  ₹338 crore rupees in the Liquor policy case and it will not be challenged. The Supreme Court has stated that the new excise policy was meant to give windfall gains to a select few wholesale distributors, who in turn give kickbacks and bribes. In conclusion, Smt Irani expressed relief that, regardless of their stature, leaders like Arvind Kejriwal are not exempt from the law, if they are found to have committed corruption.