As Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appeared before the CBI for questioning in the excise policy case, Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha referred to the former as “Lord Krishna” and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as “Kansa.”
“Kansa knew that Lord Shri Krishna would finish him and, hence, made every effort and hatched many conspiracies to inflict harm on Shri Krishna. He could not even harm a hair on his head. Similarly, today the BJP knows that the AAP will bring their downfall,” Chadha said.
Kejriwal arrived at the CBI office in the national capital on Sunday for questioning in the excise policy case.
The Delhi CM was accompanied to the CBI office by his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Maan, Delhi ministers, and AAP MPs.
“I will answer all the questions. BJP leaders are talking about it (my arrest). The CBI is controlled by BJP,” Kejriwal told reporters outside the CBI office.
The Delhi chief minister paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial, Rajghat, in the national capital before appearing before the CBI. According to the AAP national convenor, some anti-national forces do not want India to develop.
“Some anti-national forces do not want India to develop. I want to tell these forces that the country will continue to progress,” Kejriwal told reporters before leaving his residence.
On Sunday, Kejriwal held a high-level meeting with top Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders ahead of his announcement. The meeting took place at Kejriwal’s home. Several Delhi ministers attended the meeting, including Atishi, Kailash Gahlot, Rajkumar Anand, Gopal Rai, and Imran Hussain. The meeting was also attended by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Maan and Punjab Assembly Speaker Sardar Kultar Singh Sandhwan.
AAP MPs Raghav Chadha and ND Gupta, as well as Delhi Legislative Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, attended the meeting at Kejriwal’s residence. The meeting was called, according to sources, to discuss the next steps following Kejriwal’s questioning by the CBI on Sunday.
Meanwhile, AAP workers protested in the national capital on Sunday after party chief Kejriwal was summoned by the CBI. The Delhi Police detained several AAP workers at Kashmiri Gate. Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, a key aide to Kejriwal, is being held in jail for alleged excise fraud.
Sisodia was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of Delhi’s excise policy. On February 26, the CBI apprehended Sisodia. Later that day, on March 9, the ED arrested him after hours of questioning at Tihar Jail.
According to the ED and the CBI, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced, and the L-1 licence was extended without the approval of the competent authority. The beneficiaries diverted “illegal” gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their account books to avoid detection, according to the investigation agencies.
