Put on the backfoot by the arrest of Delhi Deputy Chief minister Manish Sisodia, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) decided to play on the front foot late on Sunday night.
Hours after Sisodia’s arrest, AAP on February 26, vehemently condemned the arrest of one of its tallest leaders in the party. It also referred to the case as “completely false and fabricated”.
Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy case. The case was registered in August last year.
On Sunday, Sisodia was called for questioning. He was put under arrest following eight hours of questioning at CBI headquarters.
Following his arrest, AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief minister Sardar Bhagwant Mann reached Sisodia’s residence to meet his family.
Coming out after the meeting, Kejriwal said Sisodia is a “true deshbhakt” who has dedicated his life to the service of the nation, especially in the area of providing a world-class education to the children of the poor.
“Over the last 75 years, he is perhaps the first such man who gave hope to the working classes and the oppressed that their children can break the cycle of poverty and salvage their future,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal also took the opportunity to attack the central government for protecting those who have looted and defrauded the country of lakhs of crores, while throwing honest and decent people like Sisodia in jail for no reason.
Kejriwal added that the nation is watching and the people of this country will give a befitting answer.
“Manish Ji is a remarkably well-meaning lionhearted person. But today we are seeing a trend in our country where the most honest, decent people are being thrown into jails for no rhyme or reason,” Kejriwal said.
“But on the other hand, those who have looted and frauded the country out of lakhs of crores are being honoured and protected by the government,” he said in a not-so-veiled attack on the central government’s alleged inaction in the Adani case.
“She (Sisodia’s wife) suffers from multiple sclerosis, which is a disease that causes nerve damage and disrupts communication between the brain and the body,” Kejriwal explained.
“Manish Ji’s son is currently residing at his university and in that situation, it was only Manish Ji who looked after her. She is alone at home now. We have assured her that we are all her brothers and sisters and we will stand behind her as one family in this tough time. We are proud of Manish Ji,” he added.
The Delhi CM trained his guns on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said, “They know that once this current generation gets educated, the rationality of this society will grow and cause the downfall of their vendetta politics.”
“The Aam Aadmi Party vehemently condemns the conspiracy hatched against Manish Sisodia. No democracy can tolerate an autocrat’s reign for long. The BJP will soon get a befitting reply from the nation,” he said.
Kejriwal also reiterated that no matter how hard the BJP tries, they cannot break the spirit of AAP.