ED accuses AAP, reporting that nearly 70 lakh rupees were disbursed to volunteers who participated in AAP’s survey teams in Goa, in the form of cash payments.
On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate reported that the funds obtained from the supposed Delhi liquor scam were utilized by the Aam Aadmi Party for election campaigning in Goa. In the chargesheet filed for the case, the ED stated, “The examination of the flow of these kickbacks has shown that a portion of these funds was utilized for the AAP’s election campaign.”
What Election Commission reported?
In 2022, the Goa Assembly elections took place, resulting in the AAP securing two seats. The Enforcement Directorate discovered that around 70 lakh rupees were given to volunteers who worked on AAP’s survey teams, in the form of cash payments. The agency investigating the matter stated that Vijay Nair, the AAP’s communications head, instructed individuals involved in the campaign to receive the payments in cash.
The ED further disclosed that Vijay Nair, on behalf of the AAP, accepted kickbacks worth 100 crore rupees from a group that included YSRCP MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, his son Raghav Magunta, Director of Aurobindo Pharma P Sarath Chandra Reddy, and Kavitha Kalvakuntla, daughter of Telangana’s Chief Minister KCR.
The central agency stated that Hyderabad-based businessman Abhishek Boinpally collaborated with Dinesh Arora, an aide of Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, to facilitate the transfer of the funds.
About “ED Accuses AAP”
The Enforcement Directorate, on Thursday, submitted a supplementary chargesheet in the case to Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court.
The charge sheet named AAP’s Vijay Nair, Sarath Reddy, Binoy Babu, Abhishek Boinpally, and Amit Arora as defendants. Manish Sisodia’s name was not included in the chargesheet, and the ED informed the court that further investigation was ongoing.
In response to the charges, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and the leader of the AAP both proclaimed that the allegations were “completely fictional.”
About Delhi Liquor Scam
The liquor scheme attracted scrutiny after Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities in the implementation of Delhi’s Excise Policy for 2021-22. The policy, which was in effect from November 17, 2021, was abolished by the government led by Arvind Kejriwal in July 2022 due to the CBI probe. The Enforcement Directorate is currently investigating the financial aspects of the supposed scam.
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