New Delhi: Delhi Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with liquor policy scam case on Sunday.
CBI questioned Delhi’s finance, excise and education minister, Manish Sisodia for several hours before arresting him. He is the second Delhi minister to be arrested since Satyendar Jain.
Here are the key developments:
- Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) termed the arrest of Sisodia as an “attack on the Delhi model of governance”. “You (the BJP) didn’t get anything from Sisodia’s house or bank accounts. They haven’t been able to prove any allegation against him,” said party leader Aatishi Marlena at a press conference. AAP also questioned the absence of a money trail.
- “Manish is innocent. His arrest is dirty politics. There is a lot of anger among the people due to the arrest of Manish. Everyone is watching. People are understanding everything. People will respond to this. This will boost our spirits further. Our struggle will get stronger,” tweeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after his deputy’s arrested.
- The AAP described Sisodia’s arrest as a “black day for democracy,” claiming that the CBI nabbed him in a bogus case. AAP leader Sanjay Singh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tweeted, “Manish Sisodia’s arrest is the height of dictatorship. Modi ji you are wrong to arrest a good person and the best education minister. Even God will not forgive you. One day your dictatorship will definitely end Modi ji.”
- “Manish Sisodia has been arrested in a false case. He used to say that if you build schools then there will be no need to build a jail. Now they have sent the person who built schools to the jail,” Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said.
- “Samajwadi Party strongly condemns the arrest of Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia ji. BJP is forcibly arresting opposition leaders to suppress issues like inflation and unemployment. The oppressive BJP government wants to end democracy,” the Twitter handle of the party wrote.
- Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien tweeted, “If Manish Sisodia had got himself a BJP brand of washing machine, he would never been arrested. Bravo, Manish. Allies ShivSena, SADal, JD(U) TDP & others have all abandoned BJP. Only CBI, ED, IT remain true allies. Targeting Opposition leaders is the DESPERATE DUO’S favorite job.”
- BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said that AAP and its leaders gave no reason for revoking the excise policy. “Today, every child of Delhi knows that Aam Aadmi Party and Manish Sisodia increased the wholesale commission of liquor from 2 per cent to 12 per cent in order to get their commission so that Aam Aadmi Party can earn big money,” Patra said at a press conference.
- The CBI in a statement said on February 19, Sisodia was called to join the investigation, and he sought one week’s notice, citing his preoccupation. He was summoned again after October 17, 2022, to answer questions he evaded during the last interview and to answer further questions about his incriminating role based on evidence collected during the case investigation. Despite being confronted with evidence to the contrary, he gave evasive replies and did not cooperate with the investigation. As a result, he has been arrested.
- Manish Sisodia will spend the night in CBI headquarters. His medical test will be conducted at 10pm, which is mandatory after arrest, he will be produced before the designated court on Monday. CBI will seek his custodial remand.
- DCP South Chandan Chowdhary said total 36 persons, including Sanjay Singh (MP Rajya Sabha), Gopal Rai (MLA and minister) Rohit Kumar Mehraulia (MLA, Trilokpuri) and Dinesh Mohnia (MLA Sangam Vihar) have been detained for violating provisions under Section 144 CrPC imposed in South District.
- Meanwhile, the AAP said they would hold protest at the BJP headquarters on Monday over the arrest of Sisodia.