Delhi liquor scam

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The Delhi Liquor Scam is a political scandal concerning the Delhi Government, which paved its way through the introduction of Delhi's Excise Policy from 2021 to 2022. This policy brought in private firms and enterprise companies into the retail liquor sectors. The allegations involve favouring the owners and shareholders of private sectors, waivers and reduction of license fee and creation of numerous licenses to all the new incoming enterprises, and bribery.^[1] The Excise policy 2021–22 created by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), projected it as a reform in the excise and retail liquor sector, thereby boosting the revenue by Rs 9,500 crores. This policy mainly focused on moving out the retail sector, and making way to large private sectors and firms. The policy was structured by a group of ministers from the cabinet, and the draft was approved and accepted by the government in March 2021.^[2][3]

When the final draft was brought in front of the Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena for approval, he approved the bill with a condition that new liquor vendors in non-confirmed areas could only be opened upon the permission of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. In November 2021, a government official from Delhi stated that, "for the first time ever all state-owned liquor shops were going to be shut and is transferred completely to private business players". Later the new policy was withdrawn and the government backed the old policy to be continued for now.^[4][5]