The AAP has questioned the silence maintained by the BJP over its relationship with Sarath Chandra Reddy, the prime accused and the “kingpin” of the so-called Delhi liquor excise scam, whose companies donated Rs 60 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds. The AAP has written a letter to BJP president JP Nadda seeking answers to its three questions be made public now that money trail to BJP account has been established by electoral bond donations received from Reddy’s firms.
AAP senior leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj and Jasmine Shah, together with AAP Chief Spokesperson Ms. Priyanka Kakkar, held a joint press conference in this connection at the party headquarters and raised questions about the relationship between the Reddy and the BJP.
Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj said that the BJP has remained silent as to why the party was receiving funds from Reddy, the owner of a well-known pharmaceutical company – Aurobindo Pharma.
The senior AAP leader expressed his surprise over the BJP’s silence in this entire matter. “Their prominent leaders and ministers, including Anurag Thakur, Smriti Irani, Manoj Tiwari, Virendra Sachdeva, everyone is silent. Every person is stunned as to what has happened. How did this matter come to light?,” he said.
Bharadwaj stated during the press meet, “We want to raise three key questions in the case – What is the relationship between Reddy and BJP? Who met him from the (BJP) party and what was their conversation? And why were people, the (Central Bureau of Investigation) CBI and the (Enforcement Directorate) ED not informed about receiving funds from Reddy?”
The AAP reported that Reddy had acquired several liquor shops in specific zones of Delhi under the recently annulled Delhi liquor policy.
He underwent questioning on November 9, 2022, and the Enforcement Directorate subsequently arrested him the following day. After spending several months in custody, his statement underwent alteration, leading to his release on bail.
AAP senior leader Jasmine Shah on Sunday called Reddy an 'approver' on the case, she said, “To make Reddy an approver in the case, he was kept in jail for six months after which he changed his statement. They (BJP) not only made him approver under pressure but also took crores from him."
AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar added, "If BJP won’t answer the questions that have been raised (on Sharat Chandra Reddy's donation to the party), then it would be obvious that it has been caught red-handed for being involved in corruption."
Aurobindo Pharma bought electoral bonds worth Rs 52 crore with more than half of it going to the BJP, according to data released by the Election Commission.
According to report, the Hyderabad-based firm purchased the bonds between April 3, 2021 and November 8, 2023 and an amount of Rs 34.5 crore was donated by it to the BJP, Rs 15 crore to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Rs 2.5 crore to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
In June last year, Reddy turned approver in the case after a Delhi court allowed him to do so. Before that, the ED had accused him of indulging in unfair market practices to gain undue advantages from the liquor policy by conspiring with business owners and politicians involved in the excise case.
