AAP targets Modi government over CBI raids at Delhi Dy CM Sisodia's home, BJP hits back with corruption allegations

The AAP and the BJP on Friday crossed swords over the CBI raids at Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia's residence here with the former claiming the Modi government is ''scared'' of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's ''growing popularity'' and the agency was acting on ''orders from above''.

The BJP hit back with corruption allegations in the excise policy of the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) government in Delhi, as the raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) in the alleged excise scam raised the political temperature ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

While Kejriwal alleged that the CBI raids on Sisodia are on the ''orders from above to harass us'', AAP MP Raghav Chadha wryly said the probe agency will find nothing but ''pencils and geometry boxes'' at the home of the deputy chief minister who holds different portfolios including the Excise and Education department.

Calling Sisodia ''the best education minister of independent India'', the AAP supremo said the raids are just obstacles in their 'Make India Number 1' mission but they will not be deterred.

Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal attached the front page of the New York Times featuring Sisodia along with a news story ''Our Children are worth it; overhaul of public schools in Delhi has students clamouring to enroll'', and said the CBI raids come on a day the biggest newspaper in America published an article praising the Delhi education model.

He further said there is no need to panic, but asserted the universe was with them.

AAP national spokesperson Sanjay Singh said the alleged irregularities in the formulation of the excise policy are just ''an excuse'' to put the CBI after Sisodia.

''The real issue here is the growing popularity of Arvind Kejriwal and his Delhi model of governance in education and healthcare.'' Chadha, who is also an MP, said when raids were conducted at Kejriwal's residence earlier, they found four mufflers. ''During raids at Sisodia's residence, they will get four pencils, notebooks and a geometry box.'' The BJP, on the other hand, launched a scathing attack on Sisodia with Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur saying the deputy CM has become an ''excuse minister'' after the latter claimed he was ''paying the price for honesty''.

Sisodia had said the agency probe against him was to derail his work to improve education facilities in the national capital.

''Today, the issue is of liquor licenses and the corruption in it. The minister concerned is Manish Sisodia. He reversed the excise policy the day the probe was handed over to the CBI. Why was this step taken? Because, there was corruption in the issuance of liquor licenses,'' Thakur alleged in a statement.

The CBI raided the homes of Sisodia and 30 other locations in connection with the alleged corruption in the implementation of Delhi's Excise Policy. The searches by the CBI covered seven states and union territories.

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena last month recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the implementation of Delhi's Excise Policy 2021-22. He suspended 11 excise officials in the matter. Sisodia had also demanded a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the policy.

Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta and former Union minister Harsh Vardhan dubbed the Kejriwal government as a ''looter government''.

As a CBI team reached Sisodia's residence in the morning, the deputy chief minister took to Twitter to welcome the CBI, saying conspiracies will not break him nor deter his resolve to continue to work for providing good education.

Describing Sisodia as the best education minister of Independent India, Punjab Chief Minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann said the CBI raid was the reward for the Delhi government's good performance being appreciated globally.

''Manish Sisodia is the best education minister of Independent India. Today the largest US newspaper NYT printed his photo on the front page. And today Modi ji sent CBI to his house. How will India progress like this?'' Mann said in a tweet in Hindi.

The Congress said the ''relentless misuse'' of investigation agencies against political rivals erodes their credibility and can help the corrupt to get away, even though its Delhi leaders alleged the raids exposed Sisodia's ''corrupt face''.

Delhi Congress leader Alka Lamba said Sisodia should face the action by the probe agency.

Another Delhi Congress leader, Abhishek Dutt, accused the AAP government of indulging in corruption in the liquor policy and granting licences to those who were close to them. He also shared pictures of Sisodia and Kejriwal with those who he claimed to be running liquor vends in the national capital.

However, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera tweeted, ''The flip side to relentless misuse of agencies against political rivals is that even legitimate, rightful actions of agencies come under a cloud of suspicion. In the process, the corrupt get away hiding behind the 'misuse' argument and the honest end up paying the price.'' PTI VIT/SLB PK SKC BUN SUN VSD NSD GSN GSN