On Friday, Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa said bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will not impact the Haryana Assembly elections.
“Bail and elections are two different things. It’s just a court procedure. The government took action, remanded him, and jailed him. Like any Indian citizen, he went to court, and the court granted him bail. This has nothing to do with the Haryana elections; it’s a separate issue. His bail will not significantly impact Haryana polls,” Bajwa said on Kejriwal.
“The court has decided, and I find their observations very serious. I humbly request the court to be a little more proactive and timelier. Whether today’s Supreme Court observation will affect them or not, time will tell,” said the Congress leader.
“If the court intervenes immediately and is proactive, the misuse of all their agencies will be stopped completely,” he added.
Supreme Court Gives Bail To Kejriwal
Earlier in the day, in a significant relief to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court granted him bail in the corruption case linked to the alleged liquor policy scam. Apart from allowing Kejriwal’s bail plea, Justice Surya Kant, heading a two-judge bench, dismissed his distinct plea challenging the legality of arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged liquor scam.
The other judge, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, authored a separate opinion raising tough questions on the timing of the CBI’s arrest and holding the central agency’s “belated arrest” to be unjustified.
Despite initial talks for a pre-poll alliance in Haryana, Congress and AAP have announced separate lists of candidates for the 90-member Assembly.
What Is The Liquor Scam?
The AAP government’s 2021-22 liquor policy, which privatized the liquor trade via public auction, is at the centre of a significant controversy. The CBI and ED allege this policy led to a Rs.2,873 crore loss for the Delhi government.
A private company purportedly paid Rs.30 lakh in bribes to secure a wholesale liquor license. It subsequently generated Rs.1,333 crore in sales within 13 months.
The company allegedly made Rs.192.8 crore in profit over eight months and gave Rs.100 crore kickbacks to AAP leaders.
-IANS
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