New Delhi, February 27 Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday criticized AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal over his claims of having a "reputation of being honest throughout his life," saying he was accustomed to living in a "palace" and flying in jets while calling himself an ordinary man.
Even as a court in Delhi acquitted former Delhi Chief Minister, his deputy Manish Sisodia, and 21 others in the liquor policy case, Gupta questioned why the excise policy (2021-22) was immediately withdrawn after an investigation was launched.
The excise policy was withdrawn in July 2022 by the then AAP government led by Kejriwal after a CBI investigation was launched into alleged irregularities and corruption in its formulation and execution.
While Kejriwal asserted that the court's verdict proved that he and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were "completely honest," the Delhi CM dismissed the claims as "mere theatrics."
"You are the person who can wear a 42-size shirt but still wears a 44-size shirt to show how ordinary you are. You don't want to leave your 'palace'.
"After losing in Delhi, you are living in the 'palace' of Punjab. You prefer to travel only by jet, and you call yourself an honest ordinary man," Gupta said while speaking to reporters here.
She was referring to controversies surrounding Kejriwal living in a "luxurious" bungalow in Delhi during his tenure as chief minister and now allegedly using the AAP-ruled Punjab government's plane to travel for campaigning in other states.
Gupta questioned whether Kejriwal felt it was right to offer free liquor with the purchase, raising the commission for liquor traders from 5 per cent to 12 per cent, privatizing retail liquor sales under the excise policy that was later scrapped in 2022.
The High Court and the Supreme Court have expressed concern over this at various times, she said, and claimed that evidence of money laundering has been traced by the investigating agencies.
"You have cheated the people of Delhi on dozens of things. Didn't you cheat the people of Delhi through your 'palace'? Didn't you cheat the people of Delhi in the school scam? You have left nothing untouched. Now, you talk about honesty, but you still don't have it," Gupta charged.
The chief minister said that Kejriwal was ousted from power in Delhi because of all his wrongdoings, and that justice will finally be served at a later stage of the case.
The CBI has appealed in the Delhi High Court against the acquittal of Kejriwal and other accused in the excise policy case