A muted Chhoti Diwali celebration followed by a tearful goodbye underlined former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s visit to his residence, Saturday. Lodged at Tihar Jail in connection with the excise policy case, the senior Aam Aadmi Party leader was given permission by a Delhi court to meet his ailing wife, Seema, who has multiple sclerosis, for six hours between 10 am and 4 pm. His second such visit since he was arrested, Sisodia could not meet his wife when the Delhi High Court granted him permission to do so in June since she had to be hospitalised due to a sudden dip in her health. On Saturday, however, the former education minister was able to meet both her and his son, who studies abroad, at their Mathura Road residence. The three lit diyas on the eve of Diwali before Sisodia bid them goodbye at the end of the period of the court-permitted visit. Sharing a photo of him hugging his wife before he stepped out of the house, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a post on X, said, “This picture is very painful. Is it right to do such injustice to a person who gave hope to the poor children of the country?” While permitting Sisodia, who was arrested in connection with the case by the CBI in February and had his bail plea rejected by the Supreme Court recently, to meet his wife, the court ordered him not to talk to the media or indulge in any political activity.
