While the dates for the Gujarat election are yet to be announced, the battle for the state, however, is heating up with each passing day.
Reacting to the summoning of its senior leader, Manish Sisodia, by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not going to win Gujarat by arresting its leaders.
On Sunday, the central probe agency summoned the Delhi Deputy Chief minister, Sisodia, to appear before it for questioning in the probe in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy.
AAP alleged that Sisodia’s summons was not for questioning but for arrest. They blamed the central government for acting at the behest of the BJP to derail Sisodia’s scheduled campaign in the poll-bound state.
Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that jail bars and hanging noose could not deter Bhagat Singh’s lofty intentions. This is the second fight for freedom, the AAP convenor said. He also termed Manish and Satyendra Jain, another senior party leader, as today’s Bhagat Singh.
“After 75 years, the country got an education minister who gave good education to the poor and hoped for a bright future. The prayers of crores of poor are with you,” he said in his tweet.
Manish Sisodia has been called for questioning at 11 am on Monday at the CBI headquarters in New Delhi.
Reiterating Kejriwal’s views, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “The agencies have conducted raids over 500 places, including Sisodia’s house. But they have found nothing.”
“We know tomorrow he will not be called for questioning but he will be arrested. This arrest will not be related to the Excise Policy; it will be an attempt to derail the AAP’s Gujarat campaign,” he said.
“The people of Gujarat want change, which is why the BJP is afraid of the AAP. But I want to tell the BJP that their attempt to arrest our leaders cannot derail our campaign and we will win Gujarat for sure,” he added.
Echoing the sentiments, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said, “By putting our leaders in jail, the BJP cannot get victory in Gujarat. The CBI notice is a notice for arrest, not for questioning. We all know he will be arrested tomorrow.”
Singh also said Manish Sisodia is the best education minister in the country. He is working day and night for the betterment of education, but the BJP wants to stop him by arresting him.