Extending support to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided his premises, the Aam Aadmi Party MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said CBI should tell people if they recovered anything.
"We welcome CBI and other agencies that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has - including the ED, Income tax. This is not the first case of raids on AAP leaders, but the question is what do these agencies recover? They should tell people if anything was ever recovered anywhere," said MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj.
The CBI raided 21 places across the seven states of India in connection with CBI's investigation into the alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy brought in November 2021. The CBI has also registered an FIR in this connection.
Sisodia took to Twitter to post: "CBI has arrived. We are honest, building a future for lakhs of children. Unfortunate that in this country, whoever does good work is hassled just like this, that is why our country is still not number-1."
"I extend my welcome to the CBI. I will cooperate with the investigation so that the truth comes out at the earliest. Till now many cases have been filed against me but nothing has come out. Nothing will come out of it either. My work cannot be stopped for a good education in the country," Sisodia tweeted.
Sisodia also tweeted that allegations made against him and the Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain were not true.
"These people are troubled by the excellent work of Delhi's education and health. That is why the health minister and the education minister of Delhi are on the radar so that the good work of education and health can be stopped," he wrote.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also tweeted his support for Sisodia saying that nothing will come out of this raid as many such have happened in the past. "I welcome CBI. We will cooperate fully. There have been many such probes, raids in past. Nothing came out. Nothing will come out this time too," Kejriwal tweeted.
A top CBI official informed that besides the residence of Sisodia and 20 other locations in Delhi-NCR, the premises of four public servants, including former Excise Commissioner of Delhi Arava Gopi Krishna-- during whose tenure the revamped Excise policy was approved-- are also being raided by the CBI.
"Raids are going on at 21 places in Delhi and NCR, including the residence of Manish Sisodia and premises of four public servants in the Excise Policy case."
Earlier in July, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena had recommended a CBI probe into Delhi's revamped excise policy. He approved the suspension of 11 officials over "lapses" in the implementation of the Excise Policy 2021-22.
The suspended officials included Gopi Krishna and deputy excise commissioner Anand Kumar Tiwari.
Earlier on August 6, former Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal was accused by Deputy CM Manish Sisodia of changing his stand on the issue of opening liquor shops in unauthorized areas of Delhi.
( With inputs from ANI )
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