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Ahead of CBI summon, Sisodia seeks 'mother's blessing', holds show of strength
Manish Sisodia has been summoned in the Delhi excise policy case.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia sought the blessings of his mother on Monday morning as he geared up to face CBI officials. He has been summoned at 11 am at the probe agency’s headquarters in the Delhi excise policy case, which has prompted claims from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that he would be arrested amid the BJP's alleged attempts to keep him away from the preparations of Gujarat elections. The top AAP leader also held a mega show of strength where he addressed a gathering and hit out at the BJP.
Visuals showed the AAP leader taking the blessings of his mother and eating prasad. He also met other party colleagues, including Atishi and Sanjay Singh, before his departure to the CBI headquarters.
“They are all set to arrest me,” he said while talking to reporters. Then he repeated his allegations: “First, they carried out raids at my place, and found nothing. Then they searched my bank locker. They went to carry out questioning in my village. Even they know that the case is fake." He had made similar remarks on Sunday when the summon was issued.
“They want to arrest me so I can’t go to Gujarat. The BJP is scared there. Whenever I have been to the state, I have seen schools in dilapidated state. People in Gujarat trust us. The BJP is losing the state,” he claimed. “Even if they put me behind bars, they won’t be able to do win. Every person in the state has been fighting for a revolution.” The state of Gujarat is set to go elections soon. However, the dates have not yet been announced yet. Looking to expand its national footprint, the AAP is now trying to emerge as a top challenger to the ruling BJP.
On being asked that his family was readying up for his departure like he was set to go for a poll battle, Sisodia said: “This is my family’s love. We have followed the ideology of Bhagat Singh while working for people. The AAP leader invoked the freedom fighter a day after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had compared him and jailed minister Satyendar Jain to Bhagat Singh.
Later, Sisodia addressed a public meeting where he lashed out at the rival BJP, which has been ruling in Gujarat for 27 years.
