The BJP on Tuesday tore into the AAP describing the ruling party as a party of “cut, commission and corruption” and said it must be an “unusual thing” that in Delhi ‘Shiksha mantri’ (education minister) and ‘Sharab mantri’ (excise minster) are the same.
Stepping up its offensive against the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) after the resignations of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and ministerial colleague Satyendar Jain, the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) also termed the Delhi excise scam case as a “fixed text book case of corruption”.
Also read: Jailed ministers Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain resign from Delhi Cabinet
While Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) on Sunday in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy for 2021-22, Jain is lodged in Tihar Jail in a money laundering case since May last year. Sisodia was holding the charge of 18 out of 33 departments of the Delhi government, including excise and education.
The AAP hit back alleging that the Centre is “targeting” the state governments who are “working relentlessly for development”.
“It is very unfortunate for the entire country that those leaders who were known and popular for their work, have been trapped. The Centre is targeting those state governments who work hard and relentlessly for development,” AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said.
Taking potshots at the BJP, the AAP also labelled the saffron party a “washing machine” for leaders facing scams, rape cases and murder charges.
In his 3-page resignation letter, Sisodia alleged that a conspiracy has been hatched based on false and baseless allegations.
Without naming anyone, Sisodia said they crossed all limits and put him in jail, hence he does not wish to continue as a minister.
“These allegations, in reality, are nothing but a conspiracy by those weak and coward people who are scared of Arvind Kejriwal’s politics of truth.
“I am not their target but their target is Aam Aadmi Party. This is because not only Delhi but the entire country is seeing you a leader with a vision for the nation and implementation of that vision could bring huge changes in the lives of people.” The Congress said Sisodia has been arrested in an “open and shut case of corruption” and that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should also be arrested for his alleged involvement in the excise policy case.
Congress leader Ajay Maken said those who formed their party on the anti-corruption plank should answer questions about the excise policy which was formed in complete contradiction of the recommendations of the Committee formed by them.
Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said Sisodia and Jain should have resigned from the Cabinet much earlier when the graft allegations against them had come to light.
Hitting out at the AAP and Kejriwal, Prasad said people who claimed to be the “flag bearers of the fight against corruption” have ensured governance that “increases the number of alcohol users in Delhi”.
Without naming any party, Prasad said he thought cut and commission was the legacy of only one political party.
“But today, I must say that 3C–cut, commission and corruption also applies for Kejriwal’s party,” Prasad said, and added that AAP leaders have defamed the anti-corruption agitation led by Anna Hazare.
Sisodia is perhaps the only education minister in the country who is also a “liquor minister”, the former law minister told reporters.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, the party’s national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the “proponents of new politics” didn’t even refrain from taking steps that would have drowned Delhi youths in a state of inebriation.
He said the party has decided to raise awareness on the issue, as “for us, it is not just a issue of corruption”, but is also about the “future of youths in Delhi”.
“It must be an unusual thing, that in Delhi ‘Shiksha mantri’ (education minister) and ‘Sharab mantri’ (excise minster) are the same,” Trivedi said, taking a dig at Sisodia.
In a poster shared on its official Twitter handle, the AAP posted a list of leaders, who were embroiled in various cases before joining the BJP, and referred to them as “satisfied customers” who got the special bonus of “No CBI-ED raids”.
It also called the BJP the “favourite washing machine of sinners” or “Paapiyon Ki Pasand Bhajpa–Washing Machine Bhajpa”.
Sharing another document titled ‘Equality Before the Law?’ on the microblogging site, the AAP mentioned the names of Narayan Rane, Suvendu Adhikari, Himanta Biswas Sarma, among others, who were facing various charges, but the probe was apparently ‘stopped’ after they joined the BJP.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari described the resignations a “victory of truth and the party workers” and demanded that Kejriwal also resign.