Tag: Manish Sisodia

Manish Sisodia

Sisodia Leaves CBI HQ After 9 Hrs, Claims Was Asked To Quit AAP

By LokMarg

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia left the CBI headquarters in the national capital on Monday after nine hours of questioning in the excise policy case.

He was summoned by the Central agency following which the Aam Aadmi Party took out a rally in support of Manish Sisodia on the way to CBI headquarters earlier today.
Speaking to the media at his residence, Sisodia alleged that the case against him was intended not to probe any scam but to “make Operation Lotus successful in Delhi”.

“Today I saw in the CBI office that there’s no issue of any scam (excise policy case). The whole case is fake. I understood all that in the 9 hour-questioning today. The case isn’t to probe any scam against me, but to make Operation Lotus successful in Delhi,” he alleged.

Sisodia further claimed that he was asked inside the CBI office to leave AAP and said that he was offered to be made the Chief Minister.

“I was asked inside the CBI office to leave (AAP), or else such cases will keep getting registered against me. I was told ‘Satyendar Jain ke upar konse sachhe cases hain?’…I said I won’t leave AAP for BJP. They said they’ll make me CM,” he alleged.

According to a CBI official, the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister has not been summoned tomorrow, however, he could be summoned again later.

“CBI will evaluate the answers given by (Delhi Dy CM) Manish Sisodia and if needed, he will be summoned again later. No summons to Sisodia for tomorrow,” a CBI official said.

Sisodia had arrived for questioning earlier today amid the allegations by the party of his possible arrest in the case.

Addressing the workers of the party before going to the agency headquarter, Sisodia had called upon AAP workers to “feel proud if he is sent to jail”.

“They are preparing to send me to jail. CBI raided my residence but nothing was found. Don’t feel sorry if I am sent to jail, feel proud,” he said.

Earlier today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal linked Sisodia’s summons to the Gujarat Assembly elections later this year and alleged that his Deputy Chief Minister would be arrested.

“Nothing was found in Manish’s house raid, nothing was found in the bank locker. The case against them is completely false. He had to go to Gujarat for the election campaign. Arresting him to stop him from going. But the election campaign will not stop. Every person in Gujarat is promoting AAP today,” Kejriwal tweeted this morning.

On Sunday, AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed that Sisodia “will be arrested”.

He also tried to draw parallels between the CBI summoning Sisodia with the upcoming Gujarat election. “CBI has summoned Manish Sisodia and will arrest him tomorrow. It has been alleged that a huge scam of Rs 10,000 crore has taken place and for that CBI and ED (Enforcement Directorate) have raided at at least 500 places so far. CBI raided Sisodia’s residence for 14 hours, but they could not find anything,” said AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj.

“This is directly linked with Gujarat elections as AAP competes with the BJP there and hence is scared. Manish Sisodia will be arrested to stop his programmes but the AAP will only grow stronger,” he added.

Meanwhile, BJP lashed out at the AAP for the show of strength in the rally and called it a “celebration of corruption”.

“When Rahul Gandhi was summoned by ED, then also Congress started doing drama like this. It will not be an exaggeration to say that it is a celebration of corruption. First, they did corruption while giving liquor licences in Delhi and now they are doing all this drama,” Patra said.

“The way Manish Sisodia was raising slogans in an open car on the streets along with his supporters today, it seems as if Aam Aadmi Party has won the World Cup of corruption. Arvind Kejriwal was a part of Anna Hazare’s Andolan and used to say that he will finish corruption, but now it seems AAP has itself become the most corrupt party in the country,” Patra further said. (ANI)

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Bhagat Singh's Relative Slams

Bhagat Singh’s Relative Slams Kejriwal For comparing Sisodia With Freedom Fighter

By LokMarg

Slamming Arvind Kejriwal for comparing his deputy Manish Sisodia and minister Satyendar Jain with Bhagat Singh, a close relative of the freedom fighter, Harbhajan Singh Dhath, on Monday asked the Delhi Chief Minister to “fight his fights politically”.

Dhath also asked Kejriwal to refrain from “equating” criminals with freedom fighters and suggested that he “concentrate” on the “miserable” condition of Punjab, where the Aam Aadmi Party was voted to power earlier this year with a thumping majority.
Kejriwal on Sunday had equated Sisodia who is facing a probe in the alleged excise policy case, and jailed minister Jain, with Bhagat Singh. “Jail bars and hanging noose could not deter Bhagat Singh’s resolute intentions. This is the second fight for freedom. Manish and Satyendar are today’s, Bhagat Singh. After 75 years, the country got an education minister who gave good education to the poor and gave hope for a bright future,” he had tweeted.

Speaking to ANI, the relative of the freedom fighter lambasted the Delhi Chief Minister and asked “what political mileage did he want from it?”

“Why are criminals caught in corruption cases being compared with martyrs? What political mileage did he want from it? Whatever your fight, fight it politically. Do not equate them with the martyrs. It is not only about Bhagat Singh but also do not equate anybody with other freedom fighters,” Dhath said.

“It was never his (Bhagat Singh’s) mission to be elected to power or else he could have survived and would not have been hanged… They should concentrate on the condition Punjab is in today,” he added.

The freedom fighter’s relative asked Kejriwal to follow Bhagat Singh’s vision but not “equate anybody” with him.

“There could not be a more shameful thing than comparing Satyendar Jain with Bhagat Singh. He is lodged in jail for months and the court is denying him bail. And you compare him with Bhagat Singh. We do not have any problem if you follow his vision, but do not equate anybody with Bhagat Singh,” Dhath said.

Calling the condition of Punjab “miserable”, he said that the people who voted them to power can also remove them from the top position.

“People have brought you to power (in Punjab), but if they can bring you to power, they also know how to remove you. The condition of Punjab is miserable. It was unimaginable to think that you would do such a thing to Punjab after coming to power,” he said.

“We have seen it earlier also that they took his name before the elections. I want to ask Kejriwal why did you need it? People know Bhagat Singh, he does not need recognition from the political parties. People respect him across the country and consider him an idol,” Dhath added.

Kejriwal’s remarks had come after his deputy Manish Sisodia was issued summon by the CBI in the excise policy case, in which Sisodia is one of the accused. (ANI)

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CBI Summons Sisodia

CBI Summons Sisodia, AAP Claims He Will Be Arrested

By LokMarg

In the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) summoning Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia for questioning in the alleged excise policy corruption case, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj on Sunday claimed that Sisodia “will be arrested tomorrow”.

He also tried to draw parallels between the CBI summoning Sisodia with the upcoming Gujarat elections.
According to Bhardwaj, the Bharatiya Janata Party is scared of AAP in Gujarat as it is competing with them.

“CBI has summoned Manish Sisodia and will arrest him tomorrow. It has been alleged that a huge scam of Rs 10,000 crore has taken place and for that CBI and ED (Enforcement Directorate) have raided at atleast 500 places so far. CBI raided Sisodia’s residence for 14 hours, but they could not find anything,” said AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj.

“This is directly linked with Gujarat elections as AAP competes with the BJP there and hence is scared. Manish Sisodia will be arrested to stop his programmes but the AAP will only grow stronger,” he added.

Bhardwaj further mentioned that he is confident about Sisodia’s arrest because the same drill has it happened earlier when AAP leaders were called for questioning and then arrested.

While exuding confidence in AAP’s victory in Gujarat, the AAP senior leader said that the party will emerge “stronger” with the “increasing” numbers of arrests.

“We would have remained silent if we were afraid. The rise in the number of arrests will raise our graph in Gujarat, the increase in BJP’s oppression will make our graph rise,” he said.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was summoned by CBI today and he shall go to the central agency’s headquarters on Monday, he confirmed with his tweet.

“I will go and fully cooperate with the CBI as it has called me to the headquarters at 11 am tomorrow after raiding my house for 14 hours and searching bank account and even my village where they could not find anything,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.

In August, the enforcement agencies conducted searches on Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s official residence among several other places in connection with the alleged corruption in the implementation of Delhi’s excise policy.

Sisodia, who is in charge of the excise department, has been under the scanner for alleged deliberate and gross procedural lapses which provided undue benefits to the tender process for liquor licensees for the year 2021-22.

Sisodia is believed to have executed decisions in violation of the statutory provisions of the Excise Policy, which could have huge financial implications. Such “undue financial favours” to the liquor licensees after the deadline for awarding tenders caused huge losses to the exchequer, sources earlier claimed.

The excise policy was passed in chief minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Cabinet in the middle of the deadly Delta Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

Sisodia was among 15 others booked in an FIR filed by the CBI in August including then Excise Commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari and Assistant Commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar.

Other accused are Manoj Rai, a former employee of Pernod Ricard; Amandeep Dhal, director of Brindco Sales; director of Buddy Retail Amit Arora, and Dinesh Arora; authorised signatories of Mahadev Liquors Sunny Marwah, Arun Ramchandra Pillai and Arjun Pandey.

The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority’s approval. The beneficiaries diverted “illegal” gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection.

As alleged, the Excise Department had decided to refund the Earnest Money Deposit of about Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against the set rules. Even though there was no enabling provision, a waiver on tendered licence fees was allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, due to COVID-19.

This allegedly caused a loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer, said the FIR, which has been instituted on a reference from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. (ANI)

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ED Raids Nearly 3 Dozen Locations In Delhi, Punjab

By LokMarg

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out searches at nearly three dozen locations in Delhi and Punjab in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 case.

The raids were conducted days after the Central agency arrested Sameer Mahendru, Managing Director of Delhi’s Jor Bagh-based liquor distributor Indospirit Group, in the case.
Among the accused in the case is Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the then Excise Commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari and Assistant Commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar.

Other accused are Manoj Rai, a former employee of Pernod Ricard; Amandeep Dhal, director of Brindco Sales; director of Buddy Retail Amit Arora, and Dinesh Arora; authorised signatories of Mahadev Liquors Sunny Marwah, Arun Ramchandra Pillai and Arjun Pandey.

The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority’s approval. The beneficiaries diverted “illegal” gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection.

As alleged, the Excise Department had decided to refund the Earnest Money Deposit of about Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against the set rules. Even though there was no enabling provision, a waiver on tendered licence fees was allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, due to COVID-19.

This allegedly caused a loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer, said the FIR, which has been instituted on a reference from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. (ANI)

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Delhi Shows How NOT To Manage A Pandemic

By Amit Sengupta

Unlock 1.0 in Delhi, with the opening of borders, has led to huge mobility and activity, even while the markets have reopened and people are trying to recapture their outdoor lives after weeks of depressing quarantine in lockdown. The renewed presence of people outside on the streets and partial commercial activity have seen a simultaneous rise in Covid-19 cases across the National Capital. With 50,000 plus cases, and around 2,000 deaths, deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has given a stern warning that by June-end there might be 1,00,000 cases in Delhi alone, and by the end of July perhaps as many as 5,00,000 cases. This is a grim and dire prediction signifying that post-lockdown the virus has spread across the spectrum, and so drastically, while the official health and hospital system seem to be cracking under the burden.

The news that the Delhi health minister has been infected and is critically ill is bad news, and one wishes him a speedy recovery. Earlier several doctors and health workers in leading hospitals like AIIMS had fallen ill, even while the stark lack of PPEs and gas masks, including ventilators and oxygen, had only made the situation more tragic and tense. Nurses have been resigning en masse from both private and government hospitals and the acute lack of beds, for those patients who have tested positive, has been all apparent.

There have been reports of people running from pillar to post to get themselves tested since the doctors and the hospitals refuse to admit patients, and the usual bureaucratic structures in government hospitals have not helped. Indeed, besides education and the successful experiment of ‘mohalla clinics’, the Delhi government was much appreciated for its stellar work in the health sector, while they made all kinds of tests and treatment totally free for the citizens of Delhi.

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This presumably strong edifice seems to have cracked under the pressure of the pandemic, with both the state and the Centre having caught off-guard and the health structures under great stress. Indeed, the prestigious hospitals in Delhi under the central government and the Union health minister too are under severe stress, even as they handle the pressure from patients from other states with crumbling or weak health infrastructures, as in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

What has been really disturbing is the manner in which some private hospitals and health care institutions in Delhi have chosen to behave. They are reportedly charging huge sums, often in lakhs, from patients, thereby shutting the door to those patients who don’t have deep pockets, and parasiting on those who just don’t have any option in a desperate situation with government hospitals denying them admission, treatment or testing facilities. There was a case of an elderly asthmatic patient who was shunted from one hospital to another, both private and government, to the extent that the man died on the streets outside one hospital, with his family begging to the doctors who simply refused treatment.  

Besides, what about those patients who are suffering from other ailments — cancer, tuberculosis, heart diseases, etc? With OPDS practically shut, private clinics dysfunctional, and doctors refusing to come home, where do they go for treatment or a check-up?

Why can’t private hospitals in Delhi be put in line with a government order asking them to admit and treat all critical patients, come what may, and not charge a penny extra, as Mamata Banerjee has ordered in Bengal, and as was the norm in Kerala? What stops the central government to issue a directive to all private hospitals not to fleece patients and treat all them without exploitation and with dignity in a national crisis?

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Besides, overworked doctors and nurses and health staff, have had their professional lives stretched to the ultimate limits, even while they risk their lives as frontline workers to fight the epidemic. Besides asking people to beat ‘thalis’ etc in praise, the central government does not seem have had any intention to give them benefits or incentives to boost their morale in such difficult work conditions. Most doctors and health staff thereby have been left to their own fate.

Besides, the central government seems to have turned a blind eye to the massive crisis since January this year, and this transparent indifference and insensitivity only continued with the tragic migration of lakhs of workers, their wives and children, starving, thirsty, emaciated and totally helpless. Thereby, no one really knows what the state of affairs of the tens of thousands of workers is who have reached their homes in small towns and villages. These places so brazenly lack even the most basic health structures, with even the primary health or community centres absent, and the district hospitals in dire straits. This seems to be a pattern in the Hindi heartland, especially in UP and Bihar. More so, around 25 lakh workers are reportedly now in transit or quarantine.

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The good news is that the Delhi government has promised another 15,000 beds by June 30. Recently, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the Radhasoami Satsang Beas in South Delhi’s Chhatarpur. The Delhi government is creating a makeshift Covid-19 health care facility with 10,000 beds in a vast open area, which will be centrally air-conditioned and fully equipped. Besides, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has urged the central government to provide 2,000 health care officials from the army and security services, including doctors and nurses; they should be allowed to work in this huge, temporary hospital.

“This 10,000-bed facility should be ready for admission of Covid-19 patients by the first week of July. It will primarily cater to patients with mild or no symptoms who cannot be assigned home quarantine for some reason and may need medical intervention. It will be our biggest, dedicated Covid health centre,” Kejriwal said.

This is indeed a positive move in a context that till now India has had been lucky not to face a situation as rampant in the USA, or as in Brazil. With indications and fear that the virus will peak in the days to come, and with the lockdown decisively lifted, including on train and air travel, it will be a tight-rope walk for both citizens and the governments. And Delhi being the capital will have to really pull up all its resources, talent, commitment and infrastructure, so that people do not suffer and the pandemic can be controlled.