“Why did the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] take a bribe of ₹60 crore from the so-called liquor scam kingpin Sarath Chandra Reddy?” asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in a post on X on Sunday. Sarath Chandra Reddy is the director of Aurobindo Pharma Limited. According to reports, Reddy had eventually turned to be an approver in the Delhi Excise Policy case.
The AAP’s statement came after a report analyzing the electoral bonds data claimed that Reddy’s Aurobindo Pharma Limited donated ₹5 crore worth of Electoral Bonds to the BJP in 2022. The donations were made five days after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), News Minute reported.
Seven months after his arrest by the ED, Sarath Chandra Reddy decided to be the approver in the case in June 2023. “Another ₹25 crore was donated to the BJP after Reddy turned approver in the Delhi excise policy case,” the report claimed.
In all, the firm purchased electoral bonds worth ₹52 crore. Of this, ₹34.5 crore went to the BJP, ₹15 crore to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and ₹2.5 crore to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), according to the Scroll.in report.
Reddy is also an accused in the Delhi Excise Policy case in November last year in connection. Delhi minister Atishi alleged that Reddy donated crores of rupees to the BJP through electoral bonds. No comments were available from Reddy or his company or the BJP over the charges levelled by the AAP.
AAP writes to JP Nadda
AAP leader Jasmine Shah said the party will send a letter to BJP national chief JP Nadda to ask three question to the BJP three questions: “First, what is BJP’s relationship with Sharath Chandra Reddy? Second, the BJP took ₹60 crore from Sarath Chandra Reddy, they took ₹55 crore when the ED had called him the kingpin of the liquor case in its chargesheet. Third, if you took the money, why did you keep this secret hidden for two years during the investigation?”
Delhi excise policy case
So far, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain and Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha have arrested in the same case.
Arvind Kejriwal was arrested in connection with the money laundering case linked to the Delhi government’s excise policy on Thursday. He was later sent to the the ED’s custody till March 28.
Kejriwal’s arrest came soon after the Elections Commission released all the details, including the unique code, related to the now-scrapped electoral bonds.
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Published: 24 Mar 2024, 03:17 PM IST
