Delhi :- The Aam Aadmi Party will hold nationwide protests Monday against the arrest of Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor excise policy case. The party will also stage protests at the BJP headquarters in the national capital around 12 pm, news agency ANI reported. Sisodia was arrested by the CBI after eight hours of questioning Sunday. In a statement, the investigating agency’s spokesperson said that the Delhi Deputy CM gave evasive replies and did not cooperate with the investigation despite being confronted with evidence to the contrary.
Soon after Sisodia was arrested by the CBI, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trained its guns at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, terming him the ‘real kingpin’ of the excise scam, and added that ‘he was next.’ Since July last year, the BJP has gradually stepped up its attack on the Delhi government on a host of alleged corruption charges building upon the foundation of L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena’s recommendation for a CBI probe in the ‘Excise Policy Scam.’
Meanwhile, the absence of two of its most senior ministers — Sisodia and Satyendar Jain — is likely to hit the functioning of the AAP and Delhi government severely, especially with the Budget session expected to be held in a few days. With 18 departments in his portfolio, Sisodia is Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s most trusted aide in the government as well as the party. Jain has been in Tihar for the past 9 months on charges of alleged money laundering in a case being probed by the ED. Over these months, key departments he used to handle have been taken care of by Sisodia.
