As the Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia noting that one aspect with regard to the transfer of money Rs 338 crore is tentatively established, the verdict came as a huge setback for AAP leaders including Sisodia as the pleas were in connection with both CBI and ED cases.
This means Sisodia will have to be in jail for at least another three months. He was in the list of star campaigners for upcoming assembly polls in five states. Besides, Rajya Sabha MP and senior leader Sanjay Singh is also in jail in the same case. The verdict is also a huge blow to AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, who is eying to expand his base in the five states which is going to polls in November this year. The verdict also proved that there is a scam of Rs 338 crores in this case. It would be difficult for the AAP Supremo to convince people that there was no scam. The party has been vouching to provide corruption-free regime.
"The morale of the party is down after the top court verdict but the party face is only Arvind Kejriwal so it won't affect it in the upcoming assembly polls," said an AAP leader on the condition of anonymity.
Putting a pressure on the Kejriwal government, the BJP leaders are now baying for Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's blood, seeking his resignation on the contention that he will be arrested.
"Now that the Supreme Court has rejected Manish Sisodia's bail plea, it is clear that the top leadership of the AAP was involved in the liquor scam. Now the arrest of the top leadership is imminent, including that of Kejriwal," Delhi BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said.
Addressing a press conference soon after the Supreme Court verdict, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi mocked AAP chief Kejriwal, saying he had claimed that Sisodia should be given Bharat Ratna for his work but his bail plea in the corruption case has been dismissed six times.
Trivedi said it is now constitutionally and legally incumbent upon Kejriwal to inform the court where the money is and morally incumbent on him to tell the people as well.
"It is said that people waste their money on liquor, the Delhi government has wasted the public exchequer on it," he said. The BJP leader accused Kejriwal of engaging in brazenness and drama, noting that AAP leaders even went to Mahatma Gandhi's memorial to vouch for their party's honesty in the alleged scam.
"After trial court and high court, now the Supreme Court has also denied bail to Manish Sisodia... all the defences of AAP fell flat on their faces...Supreme Court said that a Rs 338 crore money trail has been established which means the money has reached the coffers of the Aam Aadmi Party.
"It was continuously saying where is the money trail. They kept lying to the people of this country. Today no less than the Supreme Court which they were quoting just a few weeks ago has come out categorically with a verdict that a money trail has been established. Today the question is how long will Arvind Kejriwal continue to defend these people?..." BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala minced no words as he slammed the ruling dispensation in the national capital.
"Kejriwal should resign immediately for not only defending the corrupt but for his own role in this sharab ghotala," Poonawala reiterated.
The Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri the Supreme Court has clearly stated that the money trail is evident. In these circumstances, Kejriwal has no authority to continue as Chief Minister until the case is resolved. "There is now no other way for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal other than to resign," Bidhuri said.
