'Illegal, politically motivated': Kejriwal demands withdrawal of ED notice summoning him in Delhi liquor 'scam'

-

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that ED notice summoning him for questioning in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam was illegal and that it was sent at the behest of the BJP.

The ED has summoned Kejriwal today and will record his statement once he deposes at the probe agency’s Delhi office at 11 am.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has remained tight-lipped about whether the chief minister will appear before the ED or not.

The Delhi Chief Minister’s Office said that in reply to the ED notice, Kejriwal has termed it as “illegal and politically motivated” and aimed at preventing him from campaigning in the poll-bound states.

Meanwhile, a large number of personnel have been deployed in the central part of Delhi as part of the police’s security arrangements to prevent AAP workers from gathering around the ED office.

In anticipation of protests by the AAP workers, multiple layers of barricades have been put up at the ED office on the Tughlaq Road. A large number of police and paramilitary personnel have also been deployed, an official said.

Police personnel have also been deployed on roads leading to the BJP office at DDU Marg in Central Delhi. Barricades have also been erected near the AAP office in the ITO area.

Central Delhi witnessed minor traffic jams near the ITO, Vikas Marg and India Gate because of the security arrangements.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate are probing the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22 that allegedly favoured certain liquor dealers, an allegation that the AAP has strongly denied.

Based on a report of the chief secretary of the Delhi government, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe in July last year into alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the policy.

The report cited various alleged irregularities including a waiver of Rs 144 crore to the retail licensees under the policy in the name of COVID-19-impacted sales and a refund of Rs 30 crore to a successful bidder for the airport zone who failed to obtain a no objection certificate for opening liquor stores there, officials said.

Another allegation was that the commission of wholesale licensees was raised from five per cent to 12 per cent in an instance of “quid pro quo”, they added.

With inputs from agencies



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/jUxZB0K
FP Staff

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

120 flights delayed, 30 trains running late; Delhi fog & cold wave continue to give shiver to travellers

-
Arrival and departure of 120 flights, both domestic and international, to Delhi airport were affected due to dense fog and cold wave conditions on Wednesday, according to Delhi Airport FIDS (Flight Information Display System). As per the Delhi Airport FIDS, a total of 53 flights, including 21 domestic arrivals, 16 domestic departures, 13 international departures and three international arrivals scheduled are cancelled and not operating due to fog and other operational reasons from and to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the national capital on 17 January. #WATCH | Delhi: Several flight operations delayed at IGI airport due to low visibility amid fog. pic.twitter.com/hG1DUKllEt — ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2024 Visuals from the Delhi airport showed passengers waiting outside, checking update of their scheduled flights. There were also some people waiting for flight of their families, friends and loved ones to arrive, which got delayed due to fog. #WATCH | Delhi | Pas
Read more