Noting that the Delhi excise policy was implemented with complete transparency and there was no scam, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said they want to stop Arvind Kejriwal whose work on education and health is being talked about in the world.
A day after the CBI raided his residence, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be a battle between Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi who, he alleged, was using all means to scare the AAP supremo.
Noting that the Delhi excise policy was implemented with complete transparency and there was no scam, Sisodia said they want to stop Arvind Kejriwal whose work on education and health is being talked about in the world.
The CBI on Friday morning carried out searches at the residences of Sisodia and IAS officer Arava Gopi Krishna apart from 19 other locations after registering an FIR in connection with the alleged corruption in implementation of the Delhi excise policy, officials said.
"I want to thank the CBI for not causing any inconvenience to my family. They are good officers but they have orders from above to carry out raids," he said during a media briefing.
Sisodia claimed that they were being targeted because their worry is Arvind Kejriwal who has gained the love of the people of this country and has emerged as a "national option''.
"They are not concerned about any scam in the excise policy. They are scared of Kejriwal who has gained the love of people, specially after the party's victory in Punjab assembly elections.
"They want to stop the good work being done in education and health sectors. They first arrested Satyendar Jain who was holding the charge of the health portfolio and I will also be arrested in the next couple of days," he claimed.
Sisodia termed the Excise Policy 2021-22 as the "best policy", and said there was "no wrongdoing" in its implementation but a conspiracy to scare Kejriwal.
"This is not befitting of a prime minister who has got the people's mandate. The difference between Kejriwal and Modi is that the former thinks about poor people and the latter thinks about his select friends.
"Kejriwal appreciates those who do good work but Modi only dreams of making state governments fall and using central agencies like CBI and ED to target those who are doing good," he said.
Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena last month recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Excise Policy 2021-22.
He had also suspended 11 excise officials in the matter. Sisodia had also demanded a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the policy.
Talking about the front page New York Times article about Delhi's education Model, he said it was due to the hard work of teachers here.
Delhi Congress leaders and workers staged a protest outside the Aam Admi Party office here on Saturday demanding the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the alleged corruption in the implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy.
The protesters marched from the Delhi Congress office at DDU Marg towards AAP headquarters raising slogans against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia.
Delhi Congress demanded that Kejriwal should remove Sisodia from his Cabinet as he is named in an FIR registered by the CBI in the excise policy "scam", said Delhi Congress media department vice chairman Parvez Alam.
Sisodia's residence was searched by the CBI for several hours by the CBI in connection with the alleged irregularities in execution of Excise Policy 2021-22 on Friday. He has been named among 15 persons in an FIR registered by the probe agency.
(With PTI Inputs)