Uddhav Thackeray faction leader Sanjay Raut on Monday targeted the central government over the arrest of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, asking if the BJP only had 'seers' and 'mahatmas'.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Raut alleged that the Centre was trying to silence the Opposition by misusing different agencies to send Opposition leaders to jail or forcing them to surrender.
Raut said, "Action against Sisodia shows that the Centre is trying to silence the Opposition. We will stand with him (Sisodia). Be it Maharashtra, Jharkhand, or Delhi, the Centre is misusing the ED and the CBI to send Opposition leaders to jail or force them to surrender."
"This is happening again and again. Be it Sisodia, Nawab Malik, Anil Deshmukh or myself. Are there seers and mahatmas in the BJP?" Raut questioned.
"What about the cases going on against their leaders? Everyone knows who looted the State Bank of India (SBI), and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)...the whole country is asking questions to the government but the PM is silent," added Raut.
Extending his support to AAP leaders in the wake of Sisodia's arrest, Raut said, "No matter how much you oppress, we will keep fighting. Our party stands with Kejriwal and Sisodia."
"All these decisions are being taken because of one person. These are not the decisions of the cabinet. If an Opposition leader asks questions, he is put behind bars," he added.
The CBI on Sunday arrested Sisodia in connection with the Delhi liquor scam, after eight hours of questioning.
Shortly before arriving at the CBI office for questioning, the deputy chief minister said false cases were being lodged against leaders of the ruling party as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "afraid" of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
( With inputs from ANI )
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