Manish Sisodia's questioning by CBI ends after 9 hours

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday claimed the BJP-led government at the Centre plans to keep his deputy Manish Sisodia in jail till the declaration of Gujarat Assembly poll results as it does not want him to campaign in the state.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday started questioning Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia in connection with alleged irregularities in implementation of the 2021-22 Delhi excise policy. Sisodia left the office of the CBI after nearly nine hours of questioning in the liquor policy case. In some relief to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, which has been bracing for his arrest, the agency has not summoned him for a second session.

Assembly polls in the western state, being ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the past 27 years, is likely to be held in the next two months. The AAP has been positioning itself as the main political challenger of the BJP in the state.

Addressing a rally in Unjha in Mehsana district, Kejriwal said when his party comes to power on December 8, "jail ke taale tootenge, Manish Sisodia chhootenge" (the locks of the jail will break and Sisodia will be free). December 8 is the vote counting date for Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, though no schedule has been announced by the Election Commission for Gujarat elections.

Kejriwal said Sisodia, a senior AAP leader, has built many schools in Delhi and was supposed to visit Gujarat for poll campaigning, but "today, the CBI has called him (for questioning) and will arrest him".

"They will keep him (Sisodia) behind bars till December 8. They do not want him to campaign here. But when the AAP comes to power in Gujarat on December 8, 'jail ke taale tootenge, Manish Sisodia chhootenge'," said the AAP leader, repeating his newly-coined slogan three times.

Delhi Police detained Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh and other protesters outside the CBI headquarters here for alleged violation of prohibitory orders, officials said. Singh and others were protesting outside the CBI office, where Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is being questioned by the agency in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the excise policy for the national capital. A senior police officer said AAP MP Sanjay Singh has been detained along with other protesters for unlawfully protesting at the CGO complex, where CrPC section 144 is in effect. Section 144 of the Code Of Criminal Procedure prohibits the assembly of four or more people. The federal probe agency had asked Sisodia to appear before it at its headquarters at 11 am on Monday.

In a tweet on Sunday, Sisodia said: "CBI raid was conducted at my house for 14 hours, nothing came out. Searched my bank locker, nothing came out in it. They did not find anything in my village. Now they have called me to CBI Headquarters at 11 am tomorrow. I will go and give my full cooperation. Satyameva Jayate."