"RTI reveals liquor licence issued at Siri Fort Sports Complex": AAP MP Sanjay Singh in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi [India], December 12 (ANI): Senior AAP leader and MP Sanjay Singh on Friday told the Rajya Sabha that the Delhi administration has put public safety and the purpose of the Siri Fort Sports Complex at risk by permitting liquor sales inside a facility where alcohol consumption is explicitly prohibited.
Raising the issue before the House and urging the Union Health Minister to intervene, he said it was "shocking" that the same administration that suspended 28 members in 2018 for drinking inside the complex has now granted a licence for alcohol sales.
The AAP MP cited an RTI response in which the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) admitted that, although a liquor licence had been issued, it violated the rules governing the sports complex. He demanded that the illegal licence be cancelled without delay.
Speaking in Parliament, Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh raised a concern about the deteriorating situation at Delhi's Siri Fort Sports Complex, stating that people are currently facing severe difficulties at the facility. "The complex hosts academies for cricket, badminton, tennis and several other sports, and is frequented by renowned national and international athletes," he said.
The AAP MP noted that former World Cup-winning cricketer Madan Lal coaches cricket at the complex, and people of all ages, from children to senior citizens, visit the facility regularly. "But in the past few days," he said, "an atmosphere of fear has developed inside this sports complex. People are afraid to go there. Women, young girls, and senior citizens are afraid to go there."
Sanjay Singh stated that this fear stems from the fact that the interior of the sports complex has been turned into a hub for alcohol consumption. He said, "A liquor den has been created inside this sports complex. A liquor den has been created right inside it." He stressed that this violates the rules governing the complex.
Referring to the Siri Fort Sports Complex by-laws, Sanjay Singh noted that Rule 27 explicitly prohibits consuming liquor or other alcoholic drinks and smoking on the premises and requests that members cooperate by avoiding such activities.
He further reminded the House that the same administration had suspended 28 members on 15 March 2018 because they were found consuming alcohol inside the complex. "When you can cancel the membership of 28 people because they were drinking alcohol inside the facility," he said, "then how did you grant permission for alcohol there? How did you permit the sale of liquor inside the premises?"
Sanjay Singh also highlighted an RTI filed by Rajesh Agarwal, who asked the administration whether a liquor shop licence had been granted within the sports complex. The response confirmed that such a licence had indeed been issued. When Rajesh Agarwal further asked whether this licence was permitted under the rules, the administration's own reply stated that it was not permissible. Sanjay Singh said, "You are yourselves saying that a liquor licence cannot be issued there."
Appealing directly to the Union Health Minister and Leader of the House, Sanjay Singh urged the government to immediately revoke the permission granted for liquor at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. "I request through you to the Health Minister and the Leader of the House: small children go there. Kindly ensure that this is stopped. Such a licence should be prohibited at this complex." (ANI)