‘If Manish Sisodia joins BJP today…’: Kejriwal claims liquor scam an ‘excuse’ to stop AAP’s good work

CBI has alleged the Delhi government’s policy to grant licences to liquor traders favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP.

India

oi-Deepika S

Delhi
Chief
Minister
Arvind
Kejriwal
on
Wednesday
took
a
veiled
dig
at
the
Central
government
saying
that
all
cases
against
Manish
Sisodia
would
be
withdrawn
if
he
joins
the
Bharatiya
Janata
Party
(BJP).

Addressing
a
press
conference
after
meeting
AAP
MLAs
and
councillors,
Kejriwal
alleged
that
Sisodia’s
arrest
in
the
excise
policy
case
was
just
an
excuse
to
stop
the
good
work
being
done
in
the
national
capital.

Further,
the
chief
minister
challenged
the
BJP,
saying
“AAP
is
a
storm.
We
will
be
unstoppable
now
and
our
time
has
come.”

He
asserted
that
new
ministers
Atishi
and
Saurabh
Bhardwaj
would
carry
on
the
good
work
of
the
government
at
double
the
speed.

“Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
wants
to
stop
the
good
work
being
done
in
Delhi.
But
I
want
to
tell
people
that
the
work
will
happen
at
double
the
speed.
Atishi
and
Saurabh
Bhardwaj,
who
will
soon
join
the
Cabinet,
are
educated
people
who
will
carry
on
the
good
work
at
double
the
speed,”
Kejriwal
said.

On
whether
there
will
be
a
deputy
chief
minister,
Kejriwal
said,
“If
the
need
arises,
we
shall
see.”
AAP
leaders
Sisodia
and
Jain,
who
resigned
from
the
Delhi
cabinet,
were
key
faces
of
the
city
government
and
were
instrumental
in
steering
the
national
capital
through
the
COVID-19
crisis.

The
AAP’s
second-in-command,
Sisodia
was
arrested
by
the
Central
Bureau
of
Investigation
on
Sunday
in
connection
with
alleged
irregularities
in
the
formulation
and
implementation
of
the
Delhi
excise
policy
for
2021-22.

The
CBI
had
registered
an
FIR
in
a
special
court
in
August
last
year
against
Sisodia
and
14
others
under
various
sections
of
the
Indian
Penal
Code
(IPC),
including
120B
(criminal
conspiracy)
and
477A
(falsification
of
records),
and
section
7
of
the
Prevention
of
Corruption
Act.

It
is
alleged
the
Delhi
government’s
policy
to
grant
licences
to
liquor
traders
favoured
certain
dealers
who
had
allegedly
paid
bribes
for
it,
a
charge
strongly
refuted
by
the
AAP.

Jain
was
arrested
by
the
Enforcement
Directorate
in
May
last
year
in
a
money
laundering
case.

Both
have
led
what
the
Aam
Aadmi
Party
describes
as
the
successful
transformation
of
Delhi’s
education
and
health
services,
contributing
to
the
party’s
popularity
and
continued
electoral
success.