The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday questioned Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia over allegations of irregularities in the now-scrapped excise policy with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers hitting the streets and sparking a political war.
Sisodia, who also holds the excise portfolio in the Delhi government, reached the CBI headquarters in south Delhi at 11.15am. After little over nine hours of questioning, he left at 8.45pm. The senior AAP leader, considered number 2 in the party after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, was one of four public servants named as accused in CBI’s FIR filed on August 17.
After the questioning, Sisodia told reporters that there was no wrongdoing in the excise policy and that the entire investigation was part of a so-called Operation Lotus aimed at destabilising Delhi’s AAP government. He added that he was told on the sidelines of the interrogation that the investigation would end if he left AAP; and that if he did not, he would meet the same fate as Satyendra Jain, the AAP minister who has been in jail since May 30 over his alleged involvement in a hawala case.
CBI in a statement on Monday night, strongly refuted Sisodia’s claim about being threatened to leave the AAP and “similar such insinuations”, and stressed that his examination was carried out in a “professional and legal manner, strictly as per the allegations against him in the FIR”.
{{/usCountry}}CBI in a statement on Monday night, strongly refuted Sisodia’s claim about being threatened to leave the AAP and “similar such insinuations”, and stressed that his examination was carried out in a “professional and legal manner, strictly as per the allegations against him in the FIR”.
{{/usCountry}}Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri hit out at the AAP saying, “AAP is trying to glorifying the corruption and criminalisation of politics. The CBI case against Sisodia should have embarrassed AAP leaders but they are showing it as if it was a big victory for them. People understand that on one hand you have committed corruption and on the other hand you are celebrating corruption.”
Sisodia is listed as accused number 1 in the CBI complaint about the controversial liquor policy, which was rolled out on November 17, 2021to boost government revenue, improve customer experience, and eradicate liquor mafia but was mired in controversy and allegations of financial wrongdoing. It was finally withdrawn on August 31, 2022amid a political battle between the elected government and the lieutenant governor’s (LG) office.
“Prison locks will break, Manish Sisodia will be free,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi while sharing a video of Sisodia addressing supporters before he headed to the CBI headquarters. Through the day, workers protested outside the building and in central Delhi, causing traffic snarls around ITO and Rajghat.
In all, 119 party leaders were detained — including Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh — as Bharatiya Janata Party leaders accused Sisodia of graft and criticised the government’s policy.
During his over nine hours of questioning, the deputy CM was asked about private individuals who allegedly influenced the formulation and implementation of the controversial policy; the lack of verification by the excise department about liquor manufacturers and distributors and about his decision to implement the policy allegedly without the approval of the lieutenant governor, said an officer who didn’t want to be named.
Sisodia defended himself. “A completely fake case has been prepared against me. Nothing was found in the raid at my residence, search of my bank lockers and inquiries made at my village,” he tweeted before the questioning.
Campaigning in Gujarat, Kejriwal alleged that his deputy would be arrested to prevent him from campaigning in the poll-bound western state where the AAP is looking to make inroads. “The results of Gujarat (polls) will be out on December 8. They will keep Manish Sisodia in jail till then so that he cannot go to Gujarat for campaigning,” Kejriwal said.
The BJP criticised the AAP, saying it was “insulting” freedom fighters by comparing them with Kejriwal government ministers facing corruption charges.
“People of Delhi are laughing at them. However, the unfortunate thing is that they are soiling the names of Bhagat Singh and other freedom fighters by comparing them to a minister who is in jail and Sisodia who is an accused in liquor scam,” BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said a day after Kejriwal compared Sisodia and Jain with Bhagat Singh.
Sisodia is accused of recommending and taking decisions pertaining to excise policy for the year 2021-22 without the approval of the competent authority (the Lt Governor) with an intention to extend undue favours to the licencees post tender.
The investigators have already arrested AAP member Vijay Nair, businessman Sameer Mahendru, and Abhishek Boinpally in the case. The agency believes that Sisodia, along with former Delhi excise commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, former deputy commissioner Anand Tiwari, and assistant commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar, were instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to the excise policy 22 without the approval of the LG to extend undue favours post tender, officers familiar with the matter said.
A second officer said Sisodia was summoned after gathering enough material regarding irregularities through questioning of several liquor businessmen, middlemen, Delhi excise department officials and other information.
CBI said in its FIR that a payment of ₹1 crore was made by one of the arrested businessmen, Sameer Mahendru to Dinesh Arora, allegedly an associate of Sisodia. It was also alleged that two other associates of Sisodia were involved in managing and diverting alleged bribes collected from liquor licensees.
The agency has named 16 accused, which include three former senior officers of the excise department who headed the excise department when the policy was framed. One of them is former excise commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, the other two were former deputy commissioner Anand Tiwari and former assistant commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar.
After he left the CBI office, Sisodia said that the questioning had further made it clear that the excise case is forged.
“I was supposed to be questioned in the so-called excise scam. The BJP repeatedly claims ₹10,000 excise scam (in the excise case). The entire case is fake. I understood today that the CBI case is not about investigating any scam, but it is to make ‘Operation Lotus’ successful in Delhi,” Sisodia told reporters.
Besides Sisodia, CBI also questioned Raghava Reddy, son of YSR Congress Party parliamentarian Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy on Monday, officials said.
Delhi LG Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended the CBI probe in July, setting up a collision course with the elected administration. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating the money laundering allegations and arrested Mahendru last month under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The drama began early in the day. Sisodia headed for the party office after taking the blessings of his mother at Mathura Road residence. A procession of several leaders and volunteers in cars and on motorbikes followed him. “We are followers of Bhagat Singh, we do not fear going to jail. Do not regret If I go to jail, feel proud for it,” Sisodia told a crowd at AAP office. He as well as others in the procession wore yellow scarves, the colour associated with freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
Making two stopovers on the way, Sisodia addressed AAP workers at the party headquartersand also visited Raj Ghat.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra attacked AAP for the rally and called it a “celebration of corruption”.
“When Rahul Gandhi was summoned by ED, then also Congress started doing drama like this. It will not be an exaggeration to say that it is a celebration of corruption. First, they did corruption while giving liquor licenses in Delhi and now they are doing all this drama,” Patra said.
“The way Manish Sisodia was raising slogans in an open car on the streets along with his supporters today, it seems as if Aam Aadmi Party has won the World Cup of corruption. Arvind Kejriwal was a part of Anna Hazare’s Andolan and used to say that he will finish corruption, but now it seems AAP has itself become the most corrupt party in the country,” Patra further said.
The road show by AAP senior leader along with his party workers also caused traffic disruption in central Delhi, especially around ITO and Rajghat. A Delhi traffic police officer said there were more than 2000 bikers in the convoy that was carried out without any permission from AAP’s party office to Rajghat.
At Rajghat, police stopped the bikers but allowed Sisodia and a few MLAs to enter Mahatma Gandhi’s Samadhi Sthal, and later to the CBI’s headquarters.
Meanwhile, at the CBI headquarters, nearly 3,000 thousand AAP supporters gathered while Sisodia was being questioned.
In the evening, police also released the detained AAP leaders.
“All were detained under section 65 of Delhi Police Act (for not complying with the reasonable directions of police officers). All the women protestors were allowed to go before sunset. Others were still detained due to the prevailing situation,” said deputy commissioner of police (south) Chandan Chowdhary.