Deputy CM Sisodia. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, whose house was raided by the CBI on Friday in connection with a case it has registered against him and several excise officers over alleged corruption in the rollout of a liquor policy, spoke to The Indian Express on Sunday and said the intent of the CBI’s action was not to fight corruption but to target Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s ministers. Excerpts from the interview.
The CBI enquiry has moved rapidly over the past month. Do you think the CBI is going to arrest you?
It is clear that their intention is not to fight or talk about corruption. Being the Arvind Kejriwal-led government’s Education Minister, Manish Sisodia needs to be arrested. This is my crime, and this is their intent. Look at the way the raid was conducted and the allegations that are being made. They are quoting figures like Rs 8,000 crore, Rs 10,000 crore and Rs 1,000 crore. They are saying that one company transferred money to another company’s bank account and that is proof of Manish Sisodia’s corruption.
What has your interaction with the CBI been so far?
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I have had discussions with the officers. They have searched my house. They have taken my phone, my computer. I can’t use WhatsApp, I can’t use that number. They have also taken some files that I had.
The CBI also mentions the role of Vijay Nair. In what capacity was he associated with the party?
It is not about Vijay Nair. Their intent is to jail all the people associated with Kejriwal. Good work was happening in the health sector, they jailed the Health Minister (Satyendar Jain). People are praising the work done in education. The same morning that the world was reading about the work that the Delhi government has done in education in The New York Times, they raided my house that very morning. Let them investigate. These are all matters of investigation now.
You called the excise policy the best policy in the country, and that the government would have gained Rs 10,000 crore if the former L-G had not changed the decision on non-conforming areas two days before the implementation. Why did you not flag these issues earlier?
Who should we have raised it with?
We flagged it to the then L-G. He formed a committee and we had hoped the committee would offer a solution but that did not happen. First, these people met the then L-G and made him add that change to the policy at the last minute. This is the crux. No one is questioning why that decision was changed. Under which influence did he do that? It seems no one is interested in this question. The decision to open shops in non-conforming areas was part of the policy passed in May. When this was always in the policy, why is no one asking why the change was made at the last minute? Why are you not asking this?
The Health Minister is in custody and you said there are high chances that you will be arrested. You have 18 departments under you. How will the government function if this happens?
This is a question that must be asked of those making these false allegations. What has happened to Modi ji that all he thinks about is who to send the CBI and ED to next in the Kejriwal government? Why is this all he can think about? There are issues of price rise, unemployment, education and health in this country. Modi ji thinks the job of the Prime Minister is to decide which of Kejriwal’s ministers they have to send the CBI and ED to next.
Are you worried?
It is my challenge. You will not be able to stop us from working unless you kill us.