NEW DELHI, Mar 3: The former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia currently in CBI detention related to the alleged Delhi excise scam, on Friday moved a city court seeking regular bail.
The application is likely to come up for hearing before Special Judge M.K. Nagpal on Saturday, his advocate Rishikesh said. Mr. Sisodia, who was sent to CBI custody on Monday, is scheduled to be produced before the court tomorrow when his CBI remand ends.
The CBI had on Sunday evening arrested Mr. Sisodia in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor policy for 2021-22 after nearly eight hours of questioning during which his answers were allegedly not found satisfactory.
Sisodia, who held a range of portfolios from finance to education, will ask the court to hear his bail request if the CBI does not seek to seek his further remand. Sisodia faces corruption allegation in framing a liquor policy for the national capital, which was scrapped after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena flagged it to the CBI.
A day after his arrest, Sisodia had challenged the CBI’s move in the Supreme Court. The court, however, told him he should have gone to the high court, after which he withdrew his application and said he would go to the trial court.
In his absence, his basket of portfolios has been distributed between two ministers, Raaj Kumar Anand and Kailash Gahlot. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also recommended AAP MLAs Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj to be appointed ministers.
Meanwhile, the BJP alleged that the AAP was scheming to throw the school children in the state-run schools in the ring to trump support for Sisodia through a “I Love Manish Sisodia” desk. The AAP had strongly denied any such move.
“It is regrettable that even after Sisodia’s arrest, the Delhi government is not stopping its dirty politics in the name of education and has now stooped as low as to involving innocent school kids in it,” Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said. In response, the Delhi government issued a statement saying, “There is no involvement of any government department or government employee in any such activity. It is just BJP agenda.”
The BJP leader said, “Under the patronage of Delhi government, special ‘I love Manish Sisodia’ desks will be set up in government schools to garner forced support for Sisodia from students.” “Delhi BJP strongly condemns this dirty politics of forcing school kids to support Sisodia and urge that this ‘I love Manish Sisodia’ desk scheme be immediately shelved,” he said.
Senior AAP leaders, meanwhile, shared messages penned by students for Sisodia. Atishi, whose name has been recommended by the chief minister for inclusion in his cabinet, shared images of the messages on Twitter. “BJP people: No matter how many false allegations you make, but the love that the children of Delhi have got Manish Sisodia, you cannot shake it,” she said.
Jasmine Shah also retweeted similar messages and said: “Wow… Children of Delhi are showing an unprecedented outpouring of love for their favourite Education minister with messages of #ILoveManishSisodia.”
Kapoor, however, urged Delhi LG V K Saxena in a tweet to stop the campaign. In another tweet, the BJP leader tagged NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo and alleged that parents were being pressured by AAP to get such messages penned for Sisodia.
(Manas Dasgupta)