Manish Sisodia And Satyendar Jain Resign As Ministers From Delhi Cabinet

Manish Sisodia said that those who are "scared" of Kejriwal's politics have made allegations of corruption against him.

New Delhi: Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and his cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain on Tuesday resigned from their posts in the state cabinet. CM Arvind Kejriwal accepted their resignation.

“Several FIRs have been registered against me and more are in the offing. They left no stone unturned to ensure that I leave you. I was threatened and even offered bribe, but I did not relent. As a result, they arrested me for not bowing before them”, Sisodia wrote in his resignation letter.

“I am not scared of their jails and am not the first person to be arrested for following the path of truth. I have read countless stories of people who fought against the British and were jailed on false charges. Some were even hanged till death”, he added.

Sisodia asserted that those who are "scared" of Kejriwal's politics have made the allegations of corruption against him.

“The people of the country who are battling poverty, unemployment, inflation and corruption see Arvind Kejriwal as a hope. They don't see him among the leaders who believe in ‘jumlas’ as Kejriwal does what he speaks”, he said.

“Nobody in the world can neither force me to be corrupt nor compromise my integrity. Even if I wish, I cannot force anyone to do corrupt deeds nor shirk my work”, Sisodia said.

Meanwhile, AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj stated that two new ministers will be appointed "very soon" just hours after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accepted the resignations of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain on Tuesday.

"The cabinet in Delhi is quite small and most of the important departments were handled by Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia. To avoid being behind in terms of work, two new ministers will be appointed very soon," Bhardwaj said.

The CBI detained Sisodia for alleged corruption in the development and implementation of the scrapped liquor policy for the national capital for 2021–22.

The Enforcement Directorate detained Satyendar Jain in May of last year for his alleged involvement in a money laundering case.

According to ANI, the Portfolios of Manish Sisodia are likely to be given to Delhi cabinet ministers Kailash Gahlot & Raaj Kumar Anand. No new minister will be sworn in as of now.

The Supreme Court denied Sisodia's bail request on Tuesday, reported PTI. Sisodia is currently being held by the CBI in connection with the excise policy case.

A bench that included Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha stated, "We are not inclined to entertain the petition under Article 32 at this stage," quoted PTI.

Sisodia's attorney, senior advocate A M Singhvi, questioned the necessity of arresting the AAP leader, claiming that policy decisions were made at different levels and that no money was recovered.

Additionally, he stated that the Lieutenant Governor participated in the excise policy decision-making process.

Singhvi withdrew the plea because the supreme court observed that it would not consider it at this point. 

However, Satyendar Jain has been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Tihar Jail regarding alleged corruption in the implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy.

Jain is currently being held in Judicial Custody as part of another money laundering case that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed.

Along with another Delhi cabinet minister and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his name was mentioned in the controversy.

The concerned lawyers claimed that Vijay Nair, who is currently being held in Tihar Jail in connection with the ED case pertaining to the Excise policy, has also been questioned by the CBI. In a previous CBI case, the Trial court granted Nair bail.

For alleged acts of corruption in the implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy, the CBI and ED have recently made several arrests.