NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Friday that his deputy Manish Sisodia is being framed in "a completely fake case" to stall his government's work and the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) rise at the national level.
He also said Sisodia is a "hardcore honest" man and he fears that the deputy chief minister could be arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a few days.
Kejriwal's remarks came after Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the Delhi Excise Policy, 2021-22 over alleged violations of rules and procedural lapses.
The AAP alleged that the CBI probe was recommended by the LG at the behest of the BJP-led Centre to implicate Sisodia in a fake case and keep the Kejriwal-led party at bay in the upcoming Assembly polls.
Sisodia heads the excise department of the Delhi government.
"I came to know that a case has been sent to the CBI against Manish Sisodia and the agency is going to arrest him in a few days. It is a completely fake case. There is not even an iota of truth in this case," Kejriwal said at an online briefing.
The AAP national convenor said he has known Sisodia for 22 years and vouched for his honesty, saying he worked round the clock to improve the standard of the government schools in Delhi.
"This case will not hold in a court. Manish is a hardcore honest man and he will walk free," he said.
In an apparent reference to the Centre, Kejriwal said "these people" are after the AAP because the entire country is convinced that it is an "honest" party.
"These people want to stop the great work that we are doing in Delhi. They want to throw mud on us through fake cases to show that we are also corrupt like them," he said.
Kejriwal said the AAP's "storm" is blowing across the country since its victory in the Punjab Assembly polls earlier this year.
"These people want to stop it. They do not want the AAP to become their challenger in the country," he added.
"Do whatever you want. You can throw as much mud as you want, but it is not sticking to us. We are clean. We walk the path of truth and the god is with us," the Delhi chief minister said.
He said the AAP has become the hope of the people of India, asserting that nobody can now stop his party from expanding its base across the country.
Referring to the recent arrest of Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain in a money-laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Kejriwal alleged that his ministers are being targeted because of the AAP's growing popularity across the country.
A new system has been brought in the country, he said, adding, "First, it is decided who has to be sent to jail. Then a fabricated and fake case is made against him and he is forcibly sent to jail. You put Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia in jail. Put Arvind Kejriwal in jail too. Crucify him. Many more Arvind Kejriwal will come out, many more Manish Sisodia will come out and the country will move forward," Kejriwal said.
"All of you (BJP leaders) are the children of (Vinayak Damodar) Savarkar, who had apologised to the British. We are the children of Bhagat Singh, we consider Bhagat Singh, who refused to bow before the British, our idol. We are not afraid of jail and the hanging noose," he added.
At a press briefing, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the CBI probe was recommended by the LG at the behest of the Centre to implicate Sisodia in a fake case and keep the Kejriwal-led party at bay in the upcoming Assembly polls.
He also alleged that the Centre has been making efforts to "somehow" implicate all the Delhi ministers in fake cases as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scared of the growing popularity of the AAP and Kejriwal.
"The Centre will try to implicate more of our ministers. It has asked officials to find out anything, true or false, and launch a probe so that the AAP can be kept confined to Delhi and Punjab," Bharadwaj said replying to a question.
He, however, asserted that nothing will come of it and people will eventually understand everything and wonder why Modi is after AAP leaders.
"We have been anticipating that after Jain, the Centre will try to implicate Sisodia also," he said.
"This is happening because the growing popularity of Arvind Kejriwal across the country has scared the Centre and Prime Minister Modi," Bharadwaj said.
He added that the Centre is "jealous" of Kejriwal's popularity.
"It is very sad for this country that the LG has recommended a CBI inquiry to implicate Manish Sisodia, the most popular education minister in the country, in a fake case," the AAP leader said.
The CBI inquiry was recommended on the basis of a report filed by the Delhi chief secretary earlier this month, showing prima facie violations of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, the Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR), 1993, the Delhi Excise Act, 2009 and the Delhi Excise Rules, 2010, officials said.
According to sources, the LG has found "substantive indications" of "financial quid pro quo" at the "top political level" in the Delhi government, wherein the excise minister "took and got executed major decisions in violation of statutory provisions" and notified the excise policy that had "huge financial implications".