New Delhi: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC and daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday walked out of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in the national capital after being questioned in the Delhi Liquor Policy case. Kavita had on Friday asked the federal probe agency to postpone her questioning till Saturday, citing her hunger strike in Delhi. The central agency agreed to his request and rescheduled the questioning for Saturday. She reached the national capital on March 8, hours after the ED issued summons for questioning. BRS leader KT Rama Rao also reached his father’s residence in the national capital on Friday. Significantly, in this case, former Deputy CM of Delhi Manish Sisodia has been arrested by ED.
According to sources, Kavitha was to be made to sit face to face with Hyderabad businessman Arun Ramachandra Pillai arrested in the liquor policy case on Monday night.
#Watch , Delhi: BRS MLC and Telangana CM’s daughter Kavitha leaves ED office after being questioned by ED officials related to Delhi Liquor Policy case. pic.twitter.com/muNnfY9FVQ– ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2023
The MLC had called the summons by the Center against Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the BRS an “intimidation tactic”, adding that the party would continue to fight and highlight the Centre’s failures and voice for a brighter and better future. Better future for India.
“I would also like the ruling party at the Center to know that these tactics of intimidation against the fight and voice of our leader, CM KCR, and against the entire BRS party will not stop us. Under the leadership of KCR Garu, we will.” Keep fighting to highlight your failures and raise your voice for a brighter and better future of India, Kavita said in a tweet.
On March 8, the BRS came down heavily on the Center after the ED summoned Kavita in connection with its ongoing probe into the Delhi Excise Policy matter, saying that the central probe agencies have become an extended arm of the BJP. Terming the summons as “politically motivated”, BRS leader Ravula Sreedhar Reddy had said that except for the ED and the BJP, no one really understands the case filed in connection with the New Delhi Excise Policy.
In its investigation, ED has found that Pillai is one of the key persons in the entire scam involving payment of huge kickbacks and formation of the biggest cartel, South Group. The South group includes Telangana MLC Kavitha, Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Group), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (MP, Ongole), his son Raghav Magunta and others. The probe by the federal agency revealed that the South group was represented by Pillai, Abhishek Boinapalli and Buchi Babu.
Pillai was coordinating with various persons to execute a political understanding between his associates from the South group and a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Disclosure from Delhi companies in ED investigation
The ED had earlier said that the South Group had paid a bribe of Rs 100 crore to AAP leaders. Pillai is believed to be a 32.5 per cent partner in Indo Spirits, which got the L1 licence. Indo Spirits is a partnership firm of Arun Pillai (32.5 per cent), Prem Rahul (32.5 per cent) and Indospirit Distribution Limited (35 per cent), in which Arun Pillai and Prem Rahul represented Kavitha and Maguntha Srinivasu Reddy and their benami investments. Son Raghav Magunta. In December last year, Kavitha, a member of the Telangana Legislative Council, was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the same case.
The excise policy was passed in the Delhi cabinet led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the midst of the deadly Delta Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. Apart from improving the user experience, sale of spurious liquor or non-duty paid liquor in Delhi. The CBI had registered a case against alleged corruption in the Excise Policy of 2021-22. The excise duty policy was later rolled back by the AAP government.
Sisodia was among 15 others against whom the CBI had registered an FIR. Excise officials, liquor company officials, dealers, unknown public servants and private persons were booked in the case. It was alleged that irregularities were committed including amendment in excise policy and undue benefits were given to license holders including exemption or reduction in license fee, extension of L-1 license without approval etc.