New Delhi: Ahead of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's questioning by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged excise policy scam, Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday (February 26, 2023) said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scared of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal. 


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Speaking to reporters, Delhi's Environment Minister and AAP leader Gopal Rai said that it is "unfortunate" that Sisodia is going to be arrested. 


He also claimed that some of AAP leaders have been put under house arrest to prevent them from visiting Raj Ghat with Sisodia. 


"I request Modi Ji to stop being scared so much," he said.



Manish Sisodia being questioned by CBI in Delhi excise policy scam case


Meanwhile, the CBI on Sunday began its second round of questioning of Manish Sisodia in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case.


Sisodia arrived at the heavily-barricaded CBI office after paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat.


Ahead of his questioning, the deputy chief minister told reporters that he was not afraid of going to jail.


"I can go to jail a number of times and I am not afraid. When I left my job as a journalist, my wife supported me and even today, my family is standing by my side. My workers will take care of my family if I get arrested," Sisodia told reporters at Raj Ghat.


Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio in the Delhi government, said students must continue to work hard and that if he goes to jail, he will still be keeping a tab on their performance.


"I want to tell the students that they should continue to work hard and study well. Even if I go to jail, I will keep a tab on the performance of the students," he said.




The AAP leader, who is the accused number one in the CBI FIR, was earlier questioned on October 17 last year, a month before the agency filed its charge sheet on November 25.


The CBI had not named Sisodia in the charge sheet as the central probe agency kept the probe open against him and other suspects and accused, they said.


The central agency is expected to question Sisodia on various aspects of the excise policy, his alleged links with liquor traders, and politicians and claims made by witnesses in their statements.


What is Delhi excise policy scam case?


It is alleged that the Arvind Kejriwal-led 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.


It is further alleged that irregularities were committed including modifications in Excise Policy, extending undue favours to the licensees, waiver/reduction in licence fee, the extension of L-1 license without approval, etc.


"It was also alleged that illegal gains on the count of these acts were diverted to concerned public servants by private parties by making false entries in their books of accounts," a CBI spokesperson had said.


Recently, the CBI arrested Butchibabu Gorantla, a former Chartered Accountant of K Kavitha, a BRS MLC in Telangana and a daughter of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.


It is learnt that Babu had met several accused named in the FIR in Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai and was one of the prime negotiators from the South Lobby, which wanted to swing the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22 in its favour.


The CBI had also questioned Kavitha in connection with the case in December last year.


During its probe, the CBI had found evidence that Babu acted on behalf of the South Lobby comprising the Telangana MLC, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, and Aurobindo Pharma's P Sarat Chandra Reddy.