Thu Feb 27 19:31:25 UTC 2025: ## Delhi Assembly Debates Controversial Excise Policy, Amidst Suspension and Accusations

**New Delhi, February 28, 2025** – The Delhi Assembly witnessed heated debate on Thursday surrounding the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report on the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) scrapped excise policy. The report, tabled on February 25th, alleges a loss of over ₹2,000 crore to the exchequer due to “poor implementation” of the policy.

Speaker Vijender Gupta announced that the report has been referred to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for a thorough examination within three months. The PAC, to be formed in the third week of March, will investigate the findings in detail.

BJP MLAs leveled harsh criticisms against AAP, with Vishwas Nagar MLA O.P. Sharma accusing AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal of acting inhumanely during the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing a policy that allegedly endangered residents of JJ clusters through limited liquor shop access. Shakurbasti MLA Karnail Singh further claimed that this led to several deaths from over-consumption of illicit liquor.

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan countered these accusations, emphasizing that the report highlighted losses, not a scam, and accusing the BJP of using the report for character assassination.

Adding to the turbulent day, Leader of the Opposition Atishi and 20 other AAP legislators staged a dharna outside the Assembly after being denied entry. They had been suspended for disrupting Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena’s address earlier this week. Ms. Atishi also accused the BJP of removing portraits of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh from government offices, a claim the BJP refuted with photographs showing the portraits still displayed in Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s office.

Meanwhile, six-time BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht was elected as the new Deputy Speaker of the Delhi Assembly. The political tensions surrounding the excise policy and the ensuing suspensions promise continued clashes in the Delhi Assembly.

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