Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and state health minister Satyendar Jain resigned from their posts in the state cabinet on Tuesday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has accepted their resignation, officials said.
Sisodia’s portfolios would be given to Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot and Social Welfare Minister Rajkumar Anand.
Sisodia was arrested by the CBI Sunday evening in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor policy for 2021-22, while Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on money laundering charges in May last year.
The announcement came after Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri on Monday demanded that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal immediately remove his two arrested ministers, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, from the cabinet.
According to reports citing sources from the Aam Aadmi Party, the party had claimed on Monday that it was “too early” to discuss about a replacement for Sisodia, who holds 18 of the 33 departments of the Delhi government.
His workload increased after Satyendar Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May last year. Sisodia was handed over Jain’s portfolios such as health, industries, power, home, urban development, irrigation and flood control, and water.
Manish Sisodia’s CBI Arrest
The CBI arrested senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia on Sunday evening in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
A special Delhi court on Monday sent Sisodia to five-day CBI remand in the excise policy case to allow the agency to get “genuine and legitimate” answers to questions being put to him for “a proper and fair investigation.”
On Tuesday, Sisodia moved the Supreme Court seeking bail in the excise policy case and claimed that he had cooperated in the investigation and the arrest is illegal. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha refused to entertain Sisodia’s petition and said he had remedies before the trial court concerned as well as the Delhi High Court.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud noted that the case against Sisodia was under the Prevention of Corruption Act and observed, “we are inclined not to entertain this petition under Article 32 at this stage.” The bench further said, “interfering directly would result in setting up a wrong precedent.”
Sisodia’s counsel said that it was the lieutenant governor who had approved the changes in the excise policy and that the central probe agency was going after the elected government.
However, the CBI has stated that the investigation has shown he personally took decisions and stated Sisodia’s custody was required for effective interrogation in the case.
Special judge M K Nagpal passed the five-day CBI remand on Tuesday after he observed that has failed to provide satisfactory answers to most of the questions put to him during his examination and interrogation against the incriminating evidence that allegedly surfaced against him during the agency’s investigation.
Satyendar Jain’s ED Arrest
Jain is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in a money laundering case after the Enforcement Directorate accused him of having laundered money through four companies allegedly linked to him.
The ED arrested Jain on May 30 last year in the money laundering case based on a CBI FIR lodged against Jain in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In a recent bail plea by Jain at the Delhi High Court, the ED opposed the petition stating there are proceeds of crime of over Rs 4 crore. The ED has asserted that “Money laundering is crystal clear” and Jain was in “the thick of things.”
The investigation has found the “modus operandi” which involved “transferring cash from Delhi to Kolkata through Hawala operators and in lieu of cash, accommodation entries were layered and received from Kolkata-based shell companies into companies owned by applicant (Jain) and agricultural lands were purchased from these funds. Applicant has denied having any role in taking accommodation entries in his companies”.
Asserting Jain’s role, the ED has said there is “clear cut evidence” of Jain influencing co-accused Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain in Tihar jail.
While Jain is not accused in the excise policy case, the CBI had interrogated him in Tihar Jail in connection with the case after taking permission from the judge.
‘Cut, Commission and Corruption’
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said welcomed the Supreme Court’s refusal to entertain Sisodia’s plea and said the probe into the Delhi excise policy case will soon reach the “mastermind”. Satyamev Jayate…No relief from Supreme Court… Liquor minister will reveal all secrets and the repercussions of the investigation will also reach the mastermind,” Tiwari said in a Hindi tweet.
BJP MP RS Prasad noted that Satyendar Jain’s resignation was accepted nine months after his arrest and said, “Manish Sisodia should have resigned the moment such scandalous allegations came to light.”
“If Manish Sisodia has any moral compass left, he should have resigned then.” Prasad further said, “his bail plea in SC stated that he looks after 18 departments. He was keen to run departments and not to explain such allegations,” adding, “AAP’s conduct is 3Cs ‘Cut, Commission and Corruption'”.
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