NEW DELHI: A galaxy of senior AAP leaders, including Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, staged a sit-in protest near the CBI headquarters in New Delhi as the agency questioned party supremo Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged Delhi liquor policy case, which party leaders said is fake.
Delhi CM Kejriwal’s former deputy, Manish Sisodia, is already in jail and facing charges of corruption in the framing and implementation of the Delhi excise policy for the year 2021-22.
Before his appearance, Kejriwal, along with all 10 AAP lawmakers, Punjab CM Mann, Delhi Cabinet ministers, and other leaders, visited Raj Ghat. After paying obeisance to Mahatma Gandhi, they accompanied the Delhi Chief Minister to the office of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
However, the Delhi Police stopped all vehicles in the entourage except for Kejriwal’s car, nearly 500 meters away from the CBI headquarters. They were allowed to stage their protest at Archbishop Road near the CGO Complex in Lodhi Colony. Personnel of the Punjab Police accompanying Mann then formed a human chain around protesting leaders.
The questioning of Kejriwal started at 11 am this morning and was underway until the publication of this story.
AAP leaders have alleged that Kejriwal has been summoned by the CBI under pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to destroy the AAP. They say that the BJP is misusing state instruments to dislodge AAP governments.
Speaking to The New Indian, Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said, “The BJP suffers from Kejriwal-phobia. As a result, they have summoned him today with one objective: to eliminate and destroy AAP. We will put up a fight, and the truth will ultimately shine.”
MP Sanjay Singh said, “Arvind Kejriwal is the first leader who said that the black money amounting to lakhs and crores in the Adani Group belongs to Modi. Obviously, it sent him into jitters. This is not an investigation; this is totally fake.”
Kejriwal, in a video message before his appearance before the CBI, said, “I am not afraid of your empty threats. I have come here to face your questions, and I will not be cowed down. The people of this country know the truth, and they will stand with us.”
Launching a direct attack on PM Modi, Kejriwal sought to discredit his ‘Gujarat Model’ and present his ‘Delhi Model’ as a superior model of governance.