Says CM and ministers speaking in different tongues on excise revenue. Ask who is lying
Majithia and Dr Cheema also demand arrest of Hardyal Kamboj and Madan Lal Jalalpur and HC inquiry into Rs 5,600 crore liquor scam
Chandigarh, May 16, 2020: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh was lying to the people and fudging figures to show an increase in excise revenue during the Congress government's first year in office even though it had caused consistently losses to the State exchequer as far as liquor tax collections were concerned for the last three years.
It also expressed grave concern at the blatant manner in which Congressmen were running illegal distilleries and indulging in bootlegging and demanded the immediate arrest of Congress legislators Madan Lal Jalalpur and Hardyal Singh Kamboj. It also called for immediate institution of a High Court monitored inquiry to look into the Rs 2,000 crore illicit liquor scam as well as the Rs 3,600 crore excise revenue loss suffered by the State in the last three years as per its own Cabinet ministers. “Punjabis want an independent probe into the Rs 5,600 crore liquor scam and the chief minister is duty bound to respect their wishes”, the party asserted.
Senior SAD leaders Bikram Singh Majithia and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema while addressing a press conference here, said the constitutional crisis which had arisen after Cabinet ministers questioned the authority of the Executive, had deepened how with the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues taking radically opposite views on the issue of excise loss. While asking the chief minister to give the exact excise loss incurred in the last three years, they also asked him whether he would now take action against his cabinet colleagues who had stated that the State had incurred an excise loss of Rs 3,600 crore in the last three years. They said the ministers on their part should tell whether they agreed to the chief minister’s assertion that instead of incurring any loss of excise the State had incurred an average increase of 1.6 per cent per year. “Both should explain their position as people want to know who is lying? The ministers or the chief minister ? The ministers also had a dig at those who called themselves “Asli” Congressmen vis a vis “Duplicate” Congmen and said both category who had been active in media and on Twitter should also explain themselves now.
The Akali leaders condemned Congress leaders for looting the State treasury as well as endangering the lives of liquor consumers by serving them slow poison through illicit liquor manufactured by them using ethyl alcohol used for sanitisers. They said the inaction of the State government was giving an impression that it was hand in gloves with the liquor mafia which was being run by Congressmen. "There can be no other reason for not arresting Congress MLAs Madan Lal Jalalpur and Hardyal Kamboj for running an illegal distillery through their most trusted aides or taking action against top Congress leaders of Khanna who are accused of patronising an illegal distillery".
Giving further details, the SAD leaders debunked the chief minister's assertion that the Congress government had collected an excise revenue of Rs 5,100 crore in its first yer in office in 2017-18. They said the CM should have told the complete truth and given details that as much as Rs 400 crore from this amount had been recovered from liquor contractors as license fee for the previous financial year (2016-17) during SAD-BJP tenure. They said it was also a truth that excise revenue had increased by an average of 12.5 per cent year on year during SAD-BJP tenure even as the Congress government was claiming a 1.6 per cent year on year increase only.
Meanwhile Dera Bassi legislator N K Sharma, who also addressed the media, said he had carried out a live sting from the Zirakpur sale point of the Ghanour illegal distillery and disclosed how illicit liquor was being sold openly. He said he had also talked to the AETC concerned on May 2 but on action was taken in the matter. He also disclosed how one set of Congmen were running distilleries and the other were selling the illicit liquor. He also gave example of illicit liquor bottle worth Rs 200 being sold for Rs 11000 after being packaged as Johny Walker Blue Label.
The leaders also pointed out the government had not taken any action in any case of boot legging and gave the instance of how the nephew of the Balachaur MLA - Hemraj Kaku openly threatened the SDM when his men were caught selling liquor from a vend.