Bhavnagar (Gujarat) [India], August 23 (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday claimed that his deputy Manish Sisodia is likely to be arrested in the next few days. “We heard that they (CBI) will arrest Manish Sisodia within the next 10 days, but now I feel that they will arrest him in the next 2-3 days,” Aam Aadmi Party national convener Kejriwal said addressing a public meet in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar.
This came when Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are on their two-day visit to Gujarat ahead of the state assembly polls. On August 19, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched Sisodia’s home and carried out raids at several places in connection with the alleged corruption in the implementation of Delhi’s excise policy.
Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia talked about the ‘development’ in the city, and said, “We have given 2 lakh government jobs and 10 lakh private jobs… This rapidly growing enthusiasm among people across the country is what is making CBI tighten the noose on me. I want to say that I am an honest person and I am not afraid of CBI.”
During the Gujarat visit, on Monday, Kejriwal sought to put up a strong defence for his deputy and said Sisodia had done what others could not achieve in seven decades. The AAP chief has made several promises to the people of Gujarat, where Assembly elections are due later this year. “We’re guaranteeing that we’ll provide free and best health treatment to all Gujaratis. Like Mohalla clinics, health clinics will be opened in cities and villages. We’ll improve govt hospitals and new government hospitals will be opened if needed,” Kejriwal said.
The Delhi CM further demanded that the Gujarat government also provide an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to police personnel who lay down their lives in the line of duty as is done for army personnel. Notably, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) suspended the then Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna and Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari days after Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena approved the suspension and initiation of disciplinary proceedings for “serious lapses” against 11 officers in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, officials said on Monday.
Amid an intensifying face-off between Raj Niwas and the Delhi government over the Delhi Excise Policy, Saxena on August 6 approved the suspension of 11 officers of the Excise department including Krishna and Tiwari. (ANI)
