Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia said on Sunday that words were put in former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s mouth and several efforts were made to separate the two of them from each other. Recounting his time following his arrest in a corruption case linked to the national capital’s now-scrapped liquor policy, Sisodia said that he was told in the jail that if he names Kejriwal, he will be saved.
Speaking at a party event called Janata ki Adalat (people’s court) at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, the AAP leader said that while he was in jail, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gave him offers to switch sides, to which he said that no one can “separate Ram from Laxman.”
“Following the CBI arrest, words were put in Arvind Kejriwal’s mouth. They forcibly said in court that the Kejriwal has taken Manish Sisodia’s name and has put all the blame on him. The day they said in court that Kejriwal has taken my name, they came to me and said that Kejriwal has taken your name; it will be better that you also take his name. I was told that Arvind Kejriwal framed me. They told the court that Arvind Kejriwal has named Manish Sisodia. I was told in the jail, ‘Name Kejriwal, you will be saved’. When BJP people used to come to me, I used to reply that you are trying to separate Laxman from Ram. No Ravana in the world has the power to separate Laxman from Ram,” Sisodia said.
BJP वाले जब मेरे मेरे पास आते थे तो मैं यही जवाब देता था कि तुम लक्ष्मण को राम से अलग करने की कोशिश कर रहे हो,
दुनिया के किसी रावण में इतनी ताक़त नहीं है जो लक्ष्मण को राम से अलग कर सके।@msisodia #जनता_की_अदालत_में_केजरीवाल pic.twitter.com/bt9RYutqfu
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) September 22, 2024
During the event, the former Delhi Minister hailed Kejriwal and said that he has been a brother and a political mentor for him for the last 26 years.
“I was told, ‘switch over’, ‘they will get you killed in jail’. I was told to think about myself and that no one thinks about anyone in politics. I was told to think about my family, my ailing wife, and my son, who is a college-going student. I told them that you are trying to separate Laxman from Ram. No Raavan in the world has the power to do that. For 26 years, Arvind Kejriwal has been my brother and a political mentor,” he said.
The AAP leader alleged that he and his party colleagues were arrested for breaking the AAP. “They could neither break us from within nor break up the party,” he said.
हम अरविंद केजरीवाल के सिपाही हैं, ना झुकेंगे और ना टूटेंगे
हमारे नेताओं को जेल में दिल्ली की जनता के काम रोकने के लिए डाला गया। हमारी सरकार और पार्टी को तोड़ने के लिए जेल में डाला गया। लेकिन मैं बड़े गर्व से कह रहा हूं कि ना ही हमारी पार्टी टूटी और ना ही सरकार गिरी।
मुझे आम… pic.twitter.com/X2BPFCDSPg
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) September 22, 2024
While addressing the AAP supporters, Sisodia said that following his arrest he faced financial difficulties, and he was forced to beg for his son’s college fees as all his bank accounts were frozen.
Recounting the financial difficulties he faced after his address, Sisodia said, “In 2002, when I was a journalist, I bought a flat worth ₹ 5 lakh; it was taken away. I had Rs 10 lakh in my account; that was taken away too. I had to beg for help to pay my son’s fees. I had told them that I have to pay my son’s fees, and ED has frozen my bank account.”
The AAP leader was in jail for nearly one and a half years before he was granted bail in August. During this time, he tendered his resignation as Delhi’s deputy chief minister and gave up several other portfolios he was holding during his tenure.
During the AAP gathering in Jantar Mantar today, Sisodia also said he knows that people are somewhat upset because Kejriwal is no longer the Delhi CM. “It is a matter of three or four months; he will be Chief Minister again,” he said.
