The agency conducted many searches of Mr. Sisodia’s home in August after receiving the go-ahead for a probe from Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
After a nine-hour interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation today, Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, made a shocking revelation. According to Mr. Sisodia, the officials urged him to leave the ruling Aam Aadmi Party to probe him about the contentious liquor policy of the Delhi government. According to him, they even threatened that his case may otherwise proceed similarly to that of Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain, who has been in jail since May after being charged with money laundering. He attributed the officials’ words, They will make you Chief Minister, to them. Quickly after, the agency denied it.
CBI vehemently denies these claims and reiterates that Shri Sisodia’s examination was conducted professionally and lawfully scrupulously,
The CBI issued a statement shortly after Mr. Sisodia’s claims made headlines that said, the CBI strongly refutes these allegations and reiterates that the examination of Shri Sisodia was carried out professionally and legally strictly as per the allegations against him in the FIR.
In response to the CBI’s assertion, Mr. Sisodia said, If the officers of the CBI released a press release announcing that Operation Lotus was finished, then people would be astonished. Their attention was not on the excise policy completely made-up stories.
The lengthy interrogation session began at lunchtime, and when Mr. Sisodia finally made it home, he told reporters, There was the conversation about excise policy, but I was pressured to give in. These cases will continue in this manner. They promised to promote you to the chief minister.
I informed them that when a rickshaw puller’s son enrolls in the IIT, it brings me joy. Today I realized the CBI is not looking into any scam the case against me is merely intended to make Operation Lotus successful, he continued.
According to AAP, the BJP attempted to launch Operation Lotus to overthrow an opposition government by stealing its Delhi and Punjab MLAs. Even in Delhi, the BJP had last month introduced a resolution opposing it in the parliament.
According to sources, Mr. Sisodia was questioned over the alleged involvement of alcohol manufacturers in the formulation of the alcohol policy. The agency also had concerns about claims that the liquor companies generated a profit of 12%, of which 6% was distributed to government employees via intermediaries like Hyderabadi businessman Abhishek Bonipally.
The alleged loss to the state in the process and anomalies in bringing the policy into effect, such as cabinet approval for the new rules after they were enacted, were the other major concerns.
AAP, which had been preparing for Mr. Sisodia’s detention, is somewhat relieved that the agency has not called him in for a second session.
The CBI conducted many searches of Mr. Sisodia’s home in August after receiving the go-ahead for a probe from Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. In the case, which involves alleged payments to political leaders by business players in exchange for liquor store permits, the deputy chief minister is the main defendant.
According to the AAP, Mr. Sisodia will now be detained as part of the BJP’s political vendetta.
AAP said that the BJP is trying to prevent influential politicians from campaigning in Gujarat because it is frightened about the outcome of the assembly poll there.
Today’s demonstration against Manish Sisodia’s interrogation resulted in the arrest of several AAP leaders, including MP Sanjay Singh. A hundred or more workers and leaders who were outside the CBI headquarters were detained.