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BJP dismisses Manish Sisodia’s ‘Operation Lotus’ claim
Sisodia is among 15 people and entities named in a first information report (FIR) registered by CBI in connection with alleged irregularities in the implementation of Delhi’s now-recalled excise policy.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raids targeting Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia were part of “Operation Lotus” to topple the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the Union territory, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal claimed on Twitter on Monday — a charge immediately refuted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The allegation was first made by Sisodia, who tweeted that he was approached by emissaries who said all charges against him would go away, and that he could become CM, if he joined the BJP. Sisodia repeated this at an interaction with reporters in Gujarat, which he is touring along with Kejriwal, ahead of elections in the state towards the end of the year.
Sisodia is among 15 people and entities named in a first information report (FIR) registered by CBI in connection with alleged irregularities in the implementation of Delhi’s now-recalled excise policy.
“Does this mean that the CBI ED raid had nothing to do with liquor policy and corruption? Were these raids done only to topple the AAP government in Delhi?” Kejriwal asked on Twitter. “Operation Lotus failed,” he said in another tweet.
Sisodia did not specify who had approached him, or sent him the “message”. When asked aboutthe person who contacted him on behalf of the BJP, the AAP leader said, “The ones who conveyed the message said that they had made Suvendu Adhikari join BJP in West Bengal, they made Himanta Biswa Sarma join BJP in Assam, Narayan Rane and others. He said that keep faith in us. We help people to join the party. You guys should ask these politicians who contacted them to join BJP.”
The BJP’s national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said in response that the party had no place for corrupt people. “Kejriwal and his deputy Sisodia, who is accused number one in the liquor policy scam, keep changing the goalpost every time the BJP asks them tough questions,” he added.
At an event in Himachal Pradesh, Union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur questioned Kejriwal. “I gave him 24 hours to respond, but he hasn’t said a word. Nor has any other AAP spokesperson. First their corrupt ‘Dawa mantri’ was arrested and in jail for the last three months and now their corrupt ‘Daru Mantri’ is on the first list of accused, but still the kingpin is silent,” Thakur said, referring to the arrest of health minister Satyender Jain in a money laundering case.
Sisodia’s residence was raided in connection with alleged irregularities in Delhi’s excise policy. The Capital moved from a volume and sales-based levy to a flat licence fee regime that involved splitting the region into zones, but with no stores in some zones, excise revenue dipped from ₹5,812 crore in 2020-21 to ₹5,741 crore in 2021-22, excluding the security deposit fee. The 2020-21 number was unnaturally low on account of the pandemic.
The BJP’s allegation is that the Delhi government allowed some manufacturers to function as wholesalers and retailers, and also favoured some retailers. The AAP’s response is that the then lieutenant governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal, made some changes to the draft proposal at the last minute, thereby preventing stores from opening in some zones — a charge he has denied.
On Monday, Bhatia accused the AAP government of disregarding the recommendations of an expert committee that suggested that the wholesale trade be kept with the government, that a lottery system be followed for allocating the stores, and that the then licence fee be increased by 10%.
The AAP did not respond to the allegation.
The row began in late July when LG Vinai Kumar Saxena called for a CBI probe into the 2021-22 excise policy that brought in large-scale changes in the procurement, purchase, and sale of liquor in the city, citing a report from the chief secretary that alleged rules were ignored in the drafting of the policy. The Arvind Kejriwal-led government hit back at the allegations, claiming a conspiracy intent on destabilising the state and undermining the AAP’s social welfare work.
Then, last Friday, CBI carried out searches at the residence of Sisodia and at several other locations for about 14 hours. Later that day, the minister, along with three excise department officials and 11 executives and private individuals, were named as accused of criminal conspiracy, falsification of records and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
On Monday, Sisodia said he received a “message” from the BJP offering to withdraw the cases if he split the AAP and crossed over. “I have received a BJP message, break AAP and cross over to BJP and all the CBI-ED cases will be withdrawn. My response to BJP is that I am a descendant of Maharana Pratap, I am Rajput. I will never bow before corrupt conspirators. All the cases against me are fake. They can do whatever they want to do,” Sisodia tweeted.
Kejriwal backed him. While India is facing challenges like inflation and unemployment, the BJP is busy toppling elected governments in the country, the AAP chief said. “He (Manish Sisodia) reformed government schools which other parties could not do in 70 years. Such a person should get Bharat Ratna. The entire country’s education system should be handed over to him, but instead, they conducted CBI raids on him,” Kejriwal said at a press conference with Sisodia.
Sisodia’s claim is fictitious, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said. “Nobody can compete with Manish Sisodia in writing such fictional stories. He should start writing Bollywood scripts now that his political career is over,” he said.
Union minister Thakur attacked the AAP and called the Delhi government a “drunken government” that was afraid of getting caught in corruption.
“Kejriwal’s model number one is turning mohalla clinics to mohalla theka (liquor stores), second model is to permit opening of liquor stores in exchange of money. Instead of Swaraj, Kejriwal’s model is ‘sharab (liquor) raj’,” Thakur said.
