In a birthday post to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday asserted the "affection and trust" between them is very strong. Making a reference to the BJP, Kejriwal also said the friendship between him and Sisodia never be broken" no matter how hard "the conspirators try".
The AAP supremo also shared an old picture of him with Sisodia, wherein the two could be seen walking a street.
"This friendship is very old. Our affection and trust is very strong. This passion of working for the public is also very old. No matter how hard the conspirators try... this trust, this affection and this friendship will never be broken. (sic), Kejriwal wrote on X.
"BJP has kept Manish in jail for the last 11 months by filing false cases. But Manish is standing firm in front of their oppression, has neither bowed down to their dictatorship till now nor will ever bow down in future. In this era of dictatorship, Manish's courage inspires us all. Happy birthday Manish," the Delhi Chief Minister tweeted.
Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 last year, for his alleged role in corruption in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2020-21.
The AAP leader has been in custody since then.
The ED arrested Sisodia in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar jail. Sisodia, who held the excise portfolio, resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28.
The Delhi government had implemented the excise policy on November 17, 2021 but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.
According to the investigating agencies, the profit margins of wholesalers were arbitrarily increased from 5 per cent to 12 per cent under the new policy.
The agencies have alleged that the new policy resulted in cartelisation and those ineligible for liquor licences were favoured for monetary benefits. However, the Delhi government and Sisodia have denied any wrongdoing and said the new policy would have led to an increase in revenue.
