'If Manish Sisodia joins BJP today...': Kejriwal claims liquor scam an 'excuse' to stop AAP's good work

CBI has alleged the Delhi government's policy to grant licences to liquor traders favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday took a veiled dig at the Central government saying that all cases against Manish Sisodia would be withdrawn if he joins the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Addressing a press conference after meeting AAP MLAs and councillors, Kejriwal alleged that Sisodia's arrest in the excise policy case was just an excuse to stop the good work being done in the national capital.

Further, the chief minister challenged the BJP, saying "AAP is a storm. We will be unstoppable now and our time has come."

He asserted that new ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj would carry on the good work of the government at double the speed.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to stop the good work being done in Delhi. But I want to tell people that the work will happen at double the speed. Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj, who will soon join the Cabinet, are educated people who will carry on the good work at double the speed," Kejriwal said.

On whether there will be a deputy chief minister, Kejriwal said, "If the need arises, we shall see." AAP leaders Sisodia and Jain, who resigned from the Delhi cabinet, were key faces of the city government and were instrumental in steering the national capital through the COVID-19 crisis.

The AAP's second-in-command, Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.

The CBI had registered an FIR in a special court in August last year against Sisodia and 14 others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 477A (falsification of records), and section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

It is alleged the Delhi government's policy to grant licences to liquor traders favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP.

Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May last year in a money laundering case.

Both have led what the Aam Aadmi Party describes as the successful transformation of Delhi's education and health services, contributing to the party's popularity and continued electoral success.