Emergency by Modi govt: AAP

AAP members stage a protest against deputy CM Manish Sisodia’s arrest, in New Delhi on Monday. Pic/AFP

A special CBI court on Monday remanded Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in five-day custody of the central probe agency till March 4, a day after his arrest in the excise scam case. Special judge M K Nagpal allowed the CBI's plea for the custodial interrogation of Sisodia.

The AAP alleged that 80 per cent of its leaders were arrested since Sunday. "Since yesterday, the Aam Aadmi Party has been repeatedly saying that not only has Manish Sisodia ji been arrested, but almost 80 per cent of the leadership of the party has been arrested by police. When asked, the central government is saying that they have only been detained," AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said.

Manish Sisodia holds 18 of the 33 Delhi govt departments. Pic/PTI

Noting that it is "illegal" to detain someone for such a long duration, he said, by now, the leaders should have been presented in the court. The Delhi police detained 50 AAP leaders protesting near the CBI office while Sisodia was being questioned. He said the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is doing what former PM Indira Gandhi did when she imposed emergency in 1975.

‘Dangerous signs'

"These are very dangerous signs. These are signs of emergency. You have put all the leaders behind bars without any reason and this is wrong. The Centre should answer on what basis did it arrest our top leadership and put them behind bars," Bhardwaj added.

The CBI on Sunday arrested Sisodia in alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor policy.

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AAP protests across India

AAP leaders and workers on Monday held protests in Chandigarh, Delhi, Bhopal and other cities across India, amid tight security. On Monday morning, xsecurity was beefed up around the BJP headquarters in Delhi where the AAP has called for a "big protest". Paramilitary forces have also been deployed to maintain law and order.

‘BJP continues to assail democracy'

Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM
‘I am told that most CBI officers were against Manish's arrest. All of them have huge respect for him and there is no evidence against him. But the political pressure to arrest him was so high that they had to obey their political masters'

Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party
‘By arresting Manish Sisodia ji, who brought revolutionary changes in the field of education in Delhi, BJP has proved that it is not only against education but also against the future of Delhi's children'

Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala CM
‘It's a blatant abuse of power and an attack on democracy. Such repression undermines
the very foundation of our nation and must be resisted'

CPI(M)
‘Having failed to win polls by democratic means, the Modi regime is using central agencies to undermine democracy... It is also to divert attention from questions about the nature of PM Modi's and BJP's relationships with big businesses like Adani'

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