Delhi Dy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia arrested in excise policy case, Kejriwal slams 'dirty politics'

The AAP leader, accused number one in the CBI FIR, was questioned for 8 hours on February 26

Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi’s education, finance and health minister Manish Sisodia was on Sunday arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged involvement in irregularities in the scrapped liquor excise policy. Sisodia was questioned for over eight hours after he was arrested in the case.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that Sisodia is “innocent” and is arrested due to “dirty politics”. “Even if I have to go to jail for a few months, I do not care. We are followers of Bhagat Singh. Bhagat Singh died for the country,” Sisodia said before his arrest.

Sisodia was called for questioning for a second time at the CBI headquarters shortly after 11 am with officials of the Anti-Corruption Branch of the CBI grilling him on various aspects of the excise policy, especially about his alleged link with Dinesh Arora and other accused in the FIR. He was also questioned on the details of messages he exchanged from multiple phones among others. CBI sources said that Sisodia was not cooperative.

Also read | Manish Sisodia is innocent, his arrest is dirty politics: CM Kejriwal

Before he headed for questioning, Sisodia went to the Rajghat with AAP leaders and workers as a show of strength, after which he addressed the media and workers. “They will arrest me today, but I am an innocent man. They will keep me in jail for 8-10 months, but the country needs Arvind Kejriwal. My wife, who supported me throughout, will be left alone when I go to jail,” he said. To students in Delhi, he said, “Don’t think that there will be holidays if Manish chacha has gone to jail. Keep up your studies.”

As it became apparent that Sisodia will face arrest, Delhi Police amped up the security in the capital, blocking several roads, with several police personnel manning major thoroughfares. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) was also deployed soon after his arrest.

Kejriwal took to Twitter to protest Sisodia’s arrest and said AAP will come out stronger in this. “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,” Kejriwal tweeted.

Sisodia’s arrest is the second arrest of a key leader of the AAP, with Satyender Jain being arrested in May last year in connection to a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate. Sisodia, a key aide of Kejriwal, has been with him since his days as an activist in the slums of East Delhi before joining the India Against Corruption to start the Anna Hazare movement.