BJP acting like a serial killer to topple state governments, says Manish Sisodia
The Indian Express | 17 hours ago | 26-08-2022 | 05:40 pm
The Indian Express
17 hours ago | 26-08-2022 | 05:40 pm
Calling the CBI FIR filed against him completely “fake and fabricated”, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Friday that the “BJP is acting like a serial killer to topple state governments”.Sisodia made the remarks at the one-day special session of the Delhi Assembly called by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday amid a political slugfest between the AAP and BJP, with the former accusing the latter of trying to lure its MLAs to switch sides and the latter questioning the Arvind Kejriwal government’s excise policy.Echoing Sisodia’s remarks, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also hit out at the BJP, saying “There’s a new serial killer in town. The people select the government, they (BJP) topple them.” Kejriwal also alleged that the minute the government fell, the threat of CBI and ED too vanished. “Same pattern they are following in Delhi, first they sent the CBI and ED and are threatening the leaders to topple the government here in Delhi. The rate for Delhi MLAs is Rs 20 crore and in Maharashtra, they announced Rs 50 crore. I don’t know why they have offered less in Delhi…They spent Rs 5,500 cr to buy 277 MLAs, now they have reserved Rs 800cr to buy Delhi MLAs,” he alleged.Earlier, comparing Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the deputy CM said, “I have never seen such a Prime Minister who is this insecure. There is Arvind Kejriwal, the one chief minister who appreciates the works and schemes introduced by the central government and learns from the good works done by other governments. While there is (the) Prime Minister, who is not letting others work, sends CBI and ED after leaders to destroy the state governments.”“I have not done a penny of corruption. Only thing I have done is the development of schools and the education system in Delhi. But they could not digest this and are sending CBI and ED after me. Had Arvind Kejriwal been PM and I had been in the opposite doing such good works, unlike Modiji, he would have hugged me and appreciated my work, he would have shown interest to learn and implement it in other states. He would have not sent CBI, ED after me. This is the difference between Kejriwal and Modi,” Sisodia added.Sisodia also referred to the Prime Minister as a person with “small thinking” and said he is trying to “destroy the Delhi government as it is being praised all over the world”.Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, said, “Delhi government has constructed 700 new school buildings, hired 19,609 teachers and improved the existing schools. These government schools earlier used to be known as ‘Chidiyaghar school, jhuggi wale, khadde waale schools’, now these schools have been developed and are being called as ‘IIT wala school, robot wala school.”Referring to the CBI raids and FIR filed against him, Sisodia said, “The Bharatiya Khoka Party is not here, it would have been good if they were here…on August 19, my family and I got ready to visit the temple. It was Krishna Jayanti and I received a message with a picture of a story published in the New York Times. I was just feeling happy and within five minutes I received a call saying CBI is here to search your house and an FIR has been filed against you in the Delhi Excise Policy.”The special session began with a ruckus with AAP leaders shouting “20 khoka (slang for crores, referring to the Rs 20 crore BJP allegedly offered to AAP MLAs to switch sides)” slogans against the BJP and the BJP replying with “Dhokha dhokha (cheat)”.“I read the FIR and it was completely fake and fabricated. I have been a journalist but never saw such an FIR filed completely on the basis of just ‘sources’…Source said this and sources that..On the morning of Janmashtami, the CBI came to my house and searched my house for 14 long hours, they searched every corner of my house, bedroom, kitchen, almirah, even my children’s clothes but they found nothing. I haven’t done corruption amounting to even a penny…anyways I am not here for telling my story of CBI raid, I just want to say that I am not afraid of these FIRs and raids…conduct 1,000 more raids you will not find anything…I am here to work for the development of education and schools in Delhi,” said Sisodia.Sisodia also defended the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, in which an FIR has been registered against him, saying that BJP and its leaders are alleging corruption in a policy that was beneficial for people.“Understood that the CBI headquarters is now BJP headquarters but at least research what corruption is…One leader is saying Rs 8,000 crore corruption, other saying Rs 10,000 crore corruption….CBI FIR says Rs 1 crore transferred from one bank account to other account is corruption. I say all are baseless allegations and completely fake,” said Sisodia.Alleging that he received a call from BJP to join them, the deputy CM said, “I received a call from a BJP leader saying join BJP, all the cases filed against you will be closed. They said, if you will not join the party, ED will also register a case against you…I said okay, let them file any case they want, I will get out like earlier because all are fake…they said Manish Bhai, these cases will go for long, if you will join BJP, you will be made CM, bring others also…I want to tell you I am not here to become CM, I am here to change the education system of Delhi.”Sisodia said that he has been chosen by the people of Delhi and only they can buy him and his party leaders and they have done it already. “No one can buy us, you have bought us already and we will continue to work for you, no matter what happens,” he said.Meanwhile, eight BJP MLAs were marshalled out for the whole day over taking a mobile phone inside the house and recording the session illegally. The video was recorded by BJP MLA Ajay Mahawar.Alleging that AAP has made the Assembly a “political arena”, the BJP leaders held a protest outside the Assembly session demanding Sisodia’s arrest.“We wanted to discuss the excise policy and the scam done by deputy CM Manish Sisodia…Where did they get money for election campaigning in Punjab, Goa, Gujarat? Instead of answering our questions, they removed us from the Assembly for the whole day…Sisodia has committed a big scam worth Rs 1,000 crore and caused huge loss to the government exchequer. We demand to arrest Sisodia and dismiss him from the Cabinet,” leader of Opposition Ram Vir Singh Bidhuri said.
