AAP senior politician and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after nine hours of questioning in connection with the excise policy scam case on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Sisodia had said that he was ready to go to jail for 7-8 months.
“I have the love of lakhs of children and crores of countrymen with me. Even if I have to go to jail for a few months, I do not care. We are followers of Bhagat Singh. Bhagat Singh died for the country. If I have to go to jail over such false allegations, it is a small thing,” he said before leaving to the CBI office.
As per sources, he was asked about kickbacks that were allegedly received to campaign in the Goa elections.
He was also confronted with the statement of accused Dinesh Arora who has now turned approver.
Sisodia was also asked about Hyderabad-based chartered accountant Butchibabu Gorantla, Telangana MLC and BRS leader K Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). Gorantla was arrested by the CBI earlier this month.
The CBI has filed a charge sheet in the matter and will also file the first supplementary charge sheet soon.
It is alleged that the Delhi government’s policy to grant licenses to liquor traders favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP.
Lending support, AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that his deputy need not worry about his family as the party will look after them.
“God is with you Manish. The blessings of lakhs of children and their parents are with you. When you go to jail for the country and the society, it is not a curse but a matter of pride. I pray to god that you return from jail soon. Delhi’s children, their parents and all of us will wait for you,” Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.
(With IANS inputs)
