AAP leaders term Sisodia's arrest 'dirty politics', demand ex-LG Anil Baijal also be probed

AAP leaders Monday termed Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's arrest "dirty politics" while accusing the BJP and the Union government of hatching a conspiracy to trap him and demanded that former LG Anil Baijal also be probed since he had approved the excise policy.

Several AAP leaders and workers were detained on Monday after they clashed with security personnel in Delhi during a protest march against Sisodia's arrest. A special CBI court remanded Sisodia in CBI custody till March 4.

Senior leader Sanjay Singh lashed out at the BJP and the Centre, alleging the arrest was "nothing but the BJP's dictatorship" and that it was done to divert the public attention from the Adani issue.

Also Read | Manish Sisodia arrested to divert public attention from Adani issue, says AAP's Sanjay Singh

"The leader who has been working hard for the development of the children has been arrested by the CBI. Manish Sisodia's house was thoroughly raided but nothing was found. This is happening to divert the attention of the public from outrage over the Adani issue," Singh said.

He described Sisodia's arrest as "dirty politics", and asserted that his party will "not bow down" before the BJP's "dictatorship". The Rajya Saba MP further claimed that the BJP is "jealous of the AAP's achievements and popularity".

Singh also alleged that the BJP has been "harassing" those leaders and their parties who sought a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani matter.

"They have started harassing those leaders who were seeking JPC probe into the Adani matter. CBI, SEBI, IT department are all silent now. On one hand, there is Adani who is swindling crores of money and roaming free without any probe and on the other, they are arresting a leader who has been working dedicatedly," he alleged.

Also Read | Sisodia's arrest: What does it mean for AAP?

The US-based Hindenburg Research had made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, against the Adani Group. The Adani Group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.

"Such explosive report was published on Adani, but the BJP always remained silent over the matter. Manish Sisodia has been arrested because the prime minister is scared of the Aam Aadmi Party. We are not corrupt and we are not scared of going to jail," AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed.

The AAP's Delhi convener Gopal Rai said, "It was the LG (Anil Baijal) who had put the final stamp on the excise policy papers. So why is he not being questioned? If agencies are transparent, they should have questioned the LG too. It is clear that a conspiracy has been hatched to trap Manish Sisodia," Rai said.

He also claimed that despite searching all locations, the CBI could find nothing against Sisodia.

"The court has remanded Manish Sisodia to five-day CBI custody but they won't be able to find anything. Had Adani not been a friend of the prime minister, he would also have been questioned by the CBI and ED," the Delhi minister alleged.

"If someone is trying to scare us with such raids, we are not going to stop. We will keep fighting," he added.

Reiterating the party's demand to probe former LG Anil Baijal, AAP MLA Dilip Pandey said, "Sisodia's home has already been raided thoroughly. What new evidence will the CBI find during this five-day custody? And if our leader is called an accused in the case, then why is then LG not being questioned as he was the one who had approved it," Pandey said.

He claimed that the whole case is "vendetta politics" and the opposition was being "targeted categorically".

Reacting to AAP's statements, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia claimed that the "kattar beimaan party" (hardcore dishonest party) respects neither courts nor laws or people.

He said that if the AAP believes that the CBI's action is driven by political malice, then it should have gone to court as the probe into the suspected corruption in the framing of excise policy had been going on for months.