Delhi excise policy case: CBI summons Sisodia today; AAP fears arrest, links it to Gujarat

मेरे घर पर 14 घंटे CBI रेड कराई, कुछ नहीं निकला. मेरा बैंक लॉकर तलाशा, उसमें कुछ नहीं निकला. मेरे गाँव में इन्हें कुछ नहीं मिला.

अब इन्होंने कल 11 बजे मुझे CBI मुख्यालय बुलाया है. मैं जाऊँगा और पूरा सहयोग करूँगा.

सत्यमेव जयते.

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) October 16, 2022

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal hailed Sisodia, who is in charge of the Education portfolio, and his Cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain, who is in jail in a separate case of alleged money laundering, as “modern-day Bhagat Singh”.

“Jail and the noose could not shake Bhagat Singh’s great ideals. This is the second independence struggle, Manish and Satyendar are the modern-day Bhagat Singh. After 75 years, the country got an education minister who brightened the future of the poor by giving them good education. The blessings of crores of poor people are with you,” Kejriwal posted.

“Tomorrow, when Manish ji will be arrested, it will not be about the excise policy, but about Gujarat polls,” AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said.

“It was being said that in Delhi, the excise scam was worth Rs 10,000 crore, that Manish Sisodia earned Rs 10,000 crore… At least 500 locations have been raided by CBI and ED. (Sisodia’s) house was raided by the CBI for 14 hours. He was questioned morning till night. Did they find money, property papers, benami property? Did they find anything in his bank locker, his village, or in the 500 locations?” Bharadwaj said.

The AAP has launched a hectic poll campaign in Gujarat, with Kejriwal and Sisodia campaigning in the state regularly over the past two months. Sisodia recently went to Gujarat for a six-day visit.

“The people of Gujarat want change, the BJP and AAP are in direct competition there. The BJP is worried and it is showing. In the coming one month, they want all of Sisodia’s programmes in the state to be stopped. But if the Centre and the BJP think our party will become weak if you arrest our leaders, you are wrong,” Bharadwaj said.

In its FIR on the implementation of Delhi’s Excise Policy 2021-22, the CBI named 15 people, with Sisodia’s name at the top of the list. So far, three people have been arrested — AAP’s communication in-charge Vijay Nair, Indospirit Group’s Sameer Mahendru and Hyderabad-based businessman Abhishek Boinpally.

The FIR was lodged on August 17 after Delhi Lt-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the implementation of the policy following a report submitted by Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar. The report, which officials said was submitted on July 8, alleged that undue benefits were provided to liquor vend licensees. The AAP government later scrapped the policy.