Kejriwal calls Sisodia’s arrest ‘dirty politics’
INDIA’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday (26) arrested Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with alleged corruption in the nowscrapped excise policy related to the sale of alcohol, a move that could widen the political rift between the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which rules Delhi.
Sisodia’s arrest - a high-profile action against an opposition leader - comes after that of former Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain in May last year. Both ministers have led what the AAP calls a successful transformation of Delhi’s education and health services, contributing to the party’s popularity and continued electoral success.
Their absence in the government would leave Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, one of India’s major anti-Narendra Modi faces, with no heavyweight lieutenant to implement his governance agenda in Delhi.
Sisodia was arrested after nearly eight hours of questioning on various aspects of the excise policy for 2021-22, which the probe agency said suffered from irregularities both in its formulation and implementation, allegedly intended to benefit people with links to the AAP.
The CBI investigators were not satisfied with Sisodia’s answers, an agency official said, adding he was not cooperating in the investigation and avoided clarifications sought on crucial points.
‘He gave evasive replies and did not cooperate in the investigation despite being confronted with evidence to the contrary. Therefore, he has been arrested,’the CBI said in a statement.
Reacting to Sisodia’s arrest, Kejriwal said the deputy chief minister was innocent and his arrest was ‘dirty politics’.
‘Manish is innocent. His arrest is dirty politics. His arrest has angered people quite a lot. People are watching everything. People now understand everything and will reply to this. It will boost our spirit and our struggle will only get stronger,’ Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.
But BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra targeted Sisodia, saying the entire episode is an eye-opener and shocking.
‘AAP leaders cannot hide their corruption through event management,’ Patra said, accusing Sisodia of several irregularities including a hike in commission for wholesalers to make money for his party through the backdoor.