Constitute Delhi Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee to examine CAG report on AAP’s excise policy: Congress

Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav (right) along with the party’s senior leader Sandeep Dikshit addressing a press conference at Congress HQ in New Delhi on February 26, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Welcoming the tabling of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s excise policy in the Delhi Assembly, the Congress on Wednesday (February 26, 2025) said that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should be constituted immediately to examine the audit report.

Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav and senior leader Sandeep Dikshit addressed a press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) office at 24, Akbar Road, in which they demanded a public discussion on the report, and a widening of its scope to examine the alleged involvement of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders as well.

The CAG report on the 2021-22 liquor policy was tabled by the new BJP Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on the second day of the first session of the newly elected Delhi Assembly on Tuesday (February 25, 2025). The CAG report has noted that the Delhi government had suffered cumulative losses of over ₹2,000 crore due to the 2021-2022 excise policy for a host of reasons ranging from weak policy framework to deficient implementation.

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Mr. Yadav demanded the remaining 13 out of 14 CAG reports on the AAP government’s performance should also be tabled in the Assembly.

“We want the CAG report to be investigated by the PAC. In such a situation, the PAC should be formed as soon as possible, so that this report can be investigated, and those who were involved in the loot should be punished,” he said.

The Delhi Congress chief asserted that some important questions related to the role of some senior BJP leaders and the then Lieutenant Governor (L-G) had been ignored in the CAG’s report.

“Why and who took the decision to change three Excise Directors within one year? New brands of liquor were promoted in Delhi. This should be investigated. The then L-G had given permission to implement the liquor policy of the Kejriwal government. Why has no investigation been done on this till date?” Mr. Yadav asked.

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He noted that liquor shops could not be opened without the permission of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and the BJP was ruling the MCD at the time. “There is a need to investigate how licenses were given to open liquor shops in violation of the master plan and in non-conforming areas,” Mr. Yadav added.

Mr. Dikshit said the CAG report had revealed how the Delhi government, contrary to customer preferences, pushed for liquor brands whose distilleries were in Punjab. He also claimed that the audit report had pointed out how the objective of the liquor policy had been changed repeatedly.

“Earlier, it included 77 entities but it was reduced to 14. These 14 organisations are interconnected. Some come from parts of the country where politicians and their family members maintain relations with the AAP government,” Mr. Dikshit said.