The Aam Aadmi Party described the bail granted to former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia by the Supreme Court as a tight slap on the dictatorship of the BJP and the Modi government. Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh termed the Supreme Court’s decision as a big victory for democracy, the judicial system and the sentiments of the countrymen and said that despite not recovering a single penny, Manish Sisodia was kept in jail for 17 months in a fake case.
A joint press conference by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, AAP Delhi State Convenor Gopal Rai, senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP national secretary Pankaj Gupta and AAP leader Adil Khan was held at the party headquarters here today.
Addressing the media persons, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said Manish Sisodia’s bail is a tight slap on dictatorship and on the atrocities of the Modi government. “For 17 months, you kept a person in jail against whom there was not a single proof, not a single rupee was recovered, no property papers were found. But the ED and CBI people kept on taking dates after dates in court. For 17 months, your only effort was to keep Manish Sisodia in jail. Today, the decision of the honourable Supreme Court is a victory of the justice system, a victory of democracy and a victory of the sentiments of the people of Delhi and the country,” he said.
Sanjay Singh said the whole country believes that Manish Sisodia did amazing and exemplary work in the field of education and you put such a person in jail. The whole country believes that the Kejriwal government did exemplary work in the field of education, health, electricity, water, free bus travel for mothers and sisters in Delhi. “You put Kejriwal in jail. The Mohalla Clinic model, which was admired all over the world, you put Satyendar Jain in jail. I used to raise my voice against the corruption of this government in the Parliament and they arrested me and kept me in jail for 6 months. So, the purpose is not to investigate, the purpose is to arrest and put people of the opposition in jail,” he said.
Raising the question of making good the loss of 17 months of illegal incarceration of Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh said, “I want to ask the Prime Minister, who will give an account of the 17 months of Manish Sisodia’s life that were wasted, who will answer for the mental torture that Manish Sisodia’s wife, his children, his family faced. Who will make good the loss of the lakhs of children of Delhi who were deprived of the efforts of such a good education minister. Due to your ill will and politics of hatred, you kept Manish Sisodia in jail for 17 months,” he reasoned.
Sanjay Singh said in the case of Arvind Kejriwal, the BJP-led Central government went many steps further. “The ED court granted bail. For the first time in the history of judiciary, without a copy of the order, your ED went and stopped his release and framed a new CBI case and kept Kejriwal in jail. If you still have a little shame, Prime Minister, then go ahead and end this politics and tell your agencies to stop protesting in the court against our leaders who you have forcibly kept in jail. You do not have any proof, not a single rupee was found from Kejriwal, Satyendra Jain or Manish Sisodia,” he said.
Sanjay Singh said the central agencies are not taking any action where the fraudulent transactions actually took place. “The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken a bribe of Rs 60 crore from Sarath Chandra Reddy, has any of their leaders been questioned? The money of electoral bonds was given to the BJP, after that he was released. So, the Bharatiya Janata Party is the most corrupt party of this country that took bribe through electoral bonds. The Aam Aadmi Party has always worked on the path of honesty and truth. Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, whoever was kept in jail, it was only due to ill will and politics of revenge. The Bharatiya Janata Party is a party that believes in hatred, hostility, quarrels, riots. It does not believe in development, it does not want to take the country forward,” he said.
Sanjay Singh said there is tremendous enthusiasm among the people of the entire country and the workers of the Aam Aadmi Party due to Manish Sisodia’s bail and the Aam Aadmi Party will get a huge benefit from this in the upcoming elections. “Soon our leader and party chief Arvind Kejriwal will come out, Satyendra Jain will also come out. This politics of hatred can last for a few days. The people of this country, the people of Delhi will defeat it,” he concluded.
AAP Delhi State Convenor Gopal Rai said after being imprisoned in Tihar Jail for 17 months, today the Supreme Court has granted bail to Manish Sisodia, the father of Delhi’s education revolution. The prayers of the people of Delhi and the entire country for 17 months have been answered today as Manish Sisodia known for bringing the education revolution has been released. “This has given a clear message that no dictatorship can last forever,” he said.
Gopa Rai said Manish Sisodia gave a hope to the children of Delhi and their parents, showed them a new path by getting them admission in IITs and medical colleges. “He proved this by bringing the results of government schools in Delhi better than private schools when the whole country had accepted that there can be no change in government education. People thought that all the government schools of the country would be shut, and the future of children can be safe only in private schools. Manish Sisodia broke that myth,” he said.
The AAP Delhi Convenor said the government led by Arvind Kejriwal transformed dreams into reality and gave the country a new hope. The way Manish Sisodia was kept in jail for 17 months without any evidence is proof that the BJP’s central government, the Prime Minister wanted to crush the path of hope for change in education in this country.
Thanking the Supreme Court for granting the bail to Manish Sisodia, Gopa Rai said, “Today, we all want to thank the Supreme Court from the bottom of our hearts for this, Of course, everyone regrets the fact that the CBI and ED kept the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi in jail for 17 months without any proof. We have got justice, but it is regrettable that it was late,” he said.
The AAP Delhi Convenor said that not just the Deputy Chief Minister, the other AAP leaders in jail will also be out on bail soon. The conspiracy of the Bharatiya Janata Party to keep Arvind Kejriwal in jail despite getting bail from the lower court and the Supreme Court will also be uncovered, the trap laid will be broken. “Soon, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Satyendar Jain will also come out,” he said.
Gopal Rai said certainly, Manish Sisodia’s bail, Sanjay Singh’s bail before that and soon the bail of all the leaders in the coming days is proof of the fact that no matter how powerful dictatorship may be, it will definitely come to an end.
Senior AAP leader and cabinet minister Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that today, the double bench of the country’s biggest court, which comprised Justice Gavai and Justice KV Vishwanathan, gave a landmark verdict and this verdict will prove to be a milestone not only for Manish Sisodia but also for all those political prisoners who are rotting in jail without any proof or witness under the black law of PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act).
“The court has said some important things in its verdict which I think will serve as a light for the whole country, especially for the debates that go on in TV. First, the court said bail is a right, jail is an exception. This is the principle of the country’s law and order that if you give bail to someone, it is his right and if you keep him in jail, it is an exception. This case proves that Manish Sisodia has been in jail for 17 months without any law, without any evidence, without any witness,” he stated.
Saurabh Bharadwaj continued, “The law says that you file a case, keep evidence, witnesses, prove the accused guilty, get a conviction, get a sentence of not five years, get a sentence of 10 years, keep him in jail, you are welcome, but where you have not even started the trial, nothing has been proved, how can you keep someone in jail for 17 months?”
The court said that today a game of ‘snakes and ladders’ is going on in the country. A person goes to the lower court for bail, waits, the matter gets reserved, waits and gets dismissed, then you go to the High Court, the hearing takes place, gets reserved, waits and gets dismissed, then you go to the Supreme Court, then back again, this game of clear ladders is being played by the Central Government in the country.
“In this case, in September, the Central Government and its ED gave an undertaking that the entire trial will be completed within six to eight months. Its August now, it has been almost a year, the trial has not even started yet. The court said that this has not happened in any case where there are more than 80,000 documents, more than 468 witnesses. In such a case, the trial will take 10 years, so can you keep someone in jail for 10 years without proving anything? This is not possible,” the senior AAP leader stated.
He added that the court said another important thing about the lower judiciary, trial courts and high courts that when the Supreme Court clearly said that if the trial is not over within six to eight months, then their bail should be considered. Despite this, the lower courts and high courts are hesitant in granting bail, due to which every bail application is pending in the Supreme Court. This is creating pressure on the Supreme Court, which is wrong.
Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that the Supreme Court said one more important thing. When the Supreme Court was rising, Abhishek Manu Singhvi smiled and said “Thank you my lord, the case was reserved on 6th of August and you announced the speedy decision on 9th of August.’ In response, Justice Gavai smiled and said ‘It is a matter of someone’s personal liberty, every day counts,’ what a big thing the country’s top court said.
“Personal liberty is mentioned in Article 21 of our constitution. Is it difficult for the high courts and trial courts to understand the same? When bail matters are reserved and the court sits on it for weeks and months in the matter of bail, it is a big comment on our judiciary, especially in the matters of high court and trial court which are hesitating in granting bail. All the decisions are pending in the Supreme court and finally the Supreme Court has to grant bail,” he stated.
The senior AAP leader stated that another very important thing is that the Central Government tried in the end to impose bail conditions on Manish even when he is being released, like the ones imposed on the Chief Minister. However, the court made it very clear, and it is also a very obvious thing that if a person was doing any work, any business, any job, if you are adding a restriction to his bail, will he stop working and sit at home? The court said that there is no such restriction on him, and he can continue doing whatever work he was doing. The only condition is that he will have to go to the police station on Mondays and Thursdays and mark his attendance and tell that he is available.
“Such people, whether it is Sanjay Singh or Manish Sisodia, keeping them in jail during trial is a direct injustice. The only reason why people are kept in jail during probe is when there are chances that the person might escape. However, in the case of people like Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh who have their roots in the society, who are elected MLAs, ministers, and MPs, how can they run away from the trial? It does not make any sense to keep them in jail, especially for longer than the time required. As far as tampering with the evidence is concerned, the court has clarified on that also that all the evidence that the ED has presented, which they are calling evidence, is documentary evidence and is in the custody of the court. There is no question of tampering with it, hence ignoring all the objections of the central government, the Supreme Court granted bail to Manish Sisodia,” concluded Saurabh Bharadwaj.
Meanwhile, talking to the media at another event, Senior AAP leader and minister Atishi said that Manish Sisodia has been granted bail after 17 months. This is the victory of truth. It is evident that there might be delay in God’s proceedings, but there is no injustice. Manish Sisodia was implicated in a false case. Manish Sisodia is a person who gave a bright future to the children of Delhi, changed their future, changed their education system.
She said like Manish Sisodia, CM Arvind Kejriwal will also come out soon. The people of Delhi were eagerly waiting for Manish Sisodia. They are also eagerly waiting for Arvind Kejriwal. I think there will be no mother in Delhi who has not shed tears for Arvind Kejriwal. There will be no sister in Delhi who has not kept a fast for Manish Sisodia to come out. Ultimately, truth has won. This is the victory of the people of Delhi. This is the victory of the children of Delhi.
Atishi said that Manish Sisodia thought about children and decided that even if the child is from the poorest of poor families, he should get a chance for a better future. “It is the cruelty of the BJP’s dictatorship that such a person was trapped in a false case and put in jail. Whereas in any raid, not even a single rupee of corruption was found in his locker or house. I thank the Supreme Court for giving such a wonderful decision,” she said.
Addressing the media at the party headquarters, Aam Aadmi Party’s National Secretary Pankaj Gupta said that the Supreme Court’s decision has given rise to a new hope among the people of the country and Delhi as well as all the workers of Aam Aadmi Party. This decision of the Supreme Court will further increase the faith of the people of the country in the judicial system of the country. “They have become confident that the dreams for which Arvind Kejriwal formed this party will definitely be fulfilled, even if it takes time,” he said.
Pankaj Gupta said under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, the dream of good education for every child of Delhi, good medicines and health services for every elderly parent, availability of clean water and electricity, and safety of women has come true. With this decision of the Supreme Court, the worry and dilemma of the people of Delhi for 17 months has now ended. “People’s expectations will increase, and we want to tell the people of Delhi that they should not lose courage and keep faith. Their dreams will definitely be fulfilled,” he said.
AAP leader Adil Khan said that the script of the conspiracy written sitting in the BJP office has now come out in front of everyone. The truth of this so-called liquor scam is now in front of the whole of Delhi. I thank the Supreme Court on behalf of the people of Delhi and the country. Today we are all preparing to welcome Manish Sisodia. The whole of Delhi and the country are preparing to welcome him. “Very soon our leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Satyendar Jain will also be out of jail,” he said.