“No Ravana in the world can separate Lakshmana from Rama,” declared Former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, pledging unwavering loyalty to AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal in their fight against “Ravana of dictatorship.”
In a fiery address at the ‘Janta ki Adalat mein Kejriwal’ rally at Jantar Mantar, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia fired a broadside at the BJP, revealing attempts made to sway him against Arvind Kejriwal. He vowed to return to public office only when the people validate their integrity, emphasizing the unfinished mission of reforming Delhi’s education system.
Senior AAP leader and former Deputy CM of Delhi, Manish Sisodia said that today Delhiites are very happy that Arvind Kejriwal is now out of jail, but they are also sad that he is no longer the Chief Minister of Delhi. Delhiites are confident that after the next three-four months, he will be the Chief Minister of Delhi again. We are all happy that he, the only end of corruption, has come among us beating all plots of the dictatorship.
The Ex-Deputy CM of Delhi, “I was in jail for 17 months and was happy when I came out, but I was happiest when Arvind Kejriwal was set free. Because even the Supreme Court has said that this is a false case and it won’t even survive two questions when the trial is initiated . This case is filled with concocted stories.”
“They searched Arvind Kejriwal’s and my house, office, but found nothing. And when they could not find anything, they arrested some people and put them in jail. They told them that if they want to be free of jail, they should give statements against Arvind Kejriwal. Otherwise they will rot in jail. One or two of them submitted false statements and on the basis of those false statements, Arvind Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh, and I were put in jail. But the Supreme Court said that these statements account to nothing. When the trial will commence, this case will end in two questions,” added the senior AAP leader.
Manish Sisodia said that corruption was never the reason behind jailing Arvind Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh, or I, but it was to harass us, to stop the work of Delhi. Their only motive was to break us from inside and out, break our courage, break our team by jailing us. Neither our courage stumbled from inside nor the party broke from outside. Everyone is excited about this.
He further added that many people told him to join the BJP and that these people (BJP) will make me rot in jail till death. They told me that I don’t know them, and for how long will I stay in jail. They used to say that this is what happens in politics, no one thinks about anyone. If you want to come out of jail, you should listen to them. These people used to say that they know my wife is ill, my son is studying in college right now and I should think about my family. That I would be troubled if I stayed in jail.
Manish Sisodia further said, “When I was a journalist, I bought a small house for Rs. 5 lakhs in 2002. They even took that house from me and seized it. I had Rs. 10 lakhs of my salary in my bank account, and they froze that as well. My son is studying in college, and I had to beg people for help to pay his fees because the ED froze my bank account. This is how they tried to mentally harass me, as their goal was to break me. But I am a true soldier in Arvind Kejriwal’s team and I did not break, nor did I panic.”
The Former Deputy CM said that when they couldn’t break me from within, they tried to break me from the outside. They used to send me messages, saying that I didn’t realize I had been tricked by Arvind Kejriwal. I would tell them that he had tricked me 26 years ago, and I have been dedicated to the same work ever since. Their shamelessness reached a point where, after arresting Arvind Kejriwal, the CBI lied in court, saying that he had named me, putting all the blame on me. That same day, the CBI came to me, saying that since Arvind Kejriwal had mentioned my name, it would be better if I also implicated him to save myself.
“I would just smile at all their conspiracies and tell them that since nothing wrong was done, why would I name Arvind Kejriwal? He wouldn’t take my name because I haven’t done anything wrong. I told the people bringing me these messages, ‘Do you even know what you’re saying? You’re trying to separate Lakshmana from Rama.’ I told the BJP people, ‘You’re trying to separate Lakshmana from Rama. Stop these attempts, because no Ravana in the world has the strength to separate Lakshmana from Rama’,” added the senior AAP leader.
Manish Sisodia further added, “In jail, they tried incessantly to break me from within and separate me from the party. I used to tell them that I have a 26-year friendship with Arvind Kejriwal, he is a brother to me, my political guru, and I cannot betray him. I even told my wife that how can I leave someone like him? How will I face the workers and the public?’ My wife replied, ‘Forget about the workers and yourself; if you even think about betraying Arvind Kejriwal, how will you face me?”
“They (BJP) also knew that our 26-year friendship could never be broken. That’s why they kept me and Arvind Kejriwal separated for 18 months. In these 26 years of friendship, we were never apart, not even for 18 hours. We met every day, talked about the country every day and we fought together everywhere. But these wretched people kept me away from Arvind Kejriwal for 18 months,” added Manish Sisodia.
The Former Delhi Deputy CM stated that when we met on 13th September after 18 months, my heart was filled with emotions upon seeing Arvind Kejriwal. He hugged me and that photo went viral on social media. The BJP was trying to break our friendship. Looking at that photo, I was thinking about this sequence of events in ‘Rama Charita Manasa’ that although Rama and Lakshmana were never separated, but if they did, they would have met in the same way as Arvind Kejriwal and I met. Their picture would have also come out like this. In the evening, all the MLAs and ministers sat together and after some time, when everyone started leaving, Arvind Kejriwal asked me to sit for a while since we had a lot to talk about.
Manish Sisodia said, “On September 13, we talked about how we had started the fight for change 26 years ago. At that time, there was the Delhi Electricity Board and Arvind Kejriwal and I would set up tables and chairs in front of the board. We would tell people not to pay bribes. We would tell them that we have studied the law and if any officer asks for a bribe, we will write an application for them. We would write 50-60 applications in a day, and because of that, people’s work was done honestly.”
“That day, we remembered how 26 years ago, we began this fight for honesty, patriotism, and against corruption. We recalled how we went into the ‘jhuggis’ of Delhi to help the poor get their ration cards and fight for them to get rations. We didn’t fight this battle to come to power or sit on any political chair. We worked to create the Right to Information Act and traveled across the country to spread awareness about it. We helped millions of people file RTI requests, which ensured their work was done honestly. This allowed the common man to fight against corruption,” added Manish Sisodia.
Manish Sisodia said, “We never thought we would come and sit in these political positions, form a political party, and hold such important roles. But perhaps God had a plan for us. We left home with a spirit of honesty and patriotism, working for the people. According to God’s plan, Arvind Kejriwal became the Chief Minister, and I became the Deputy Chief Minister. We built schools, hospitals, and universities in Delhi.”
The Ex-Deputy CM of Delhi mentioned, “By working honestly, we increased Delhi’s budget from Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 75,000 crore. Arvind Kejriwal said that the people of Delhi are paying taxes very honestly, so we will return this money to them. As a result, electricity became free in Delhi, water became free, bus travel and pilgrimages became free. Many roads were built in unauthorized colonies and neighborhoods. Numerous new buses were introduced, something that never happened before. Electricity began to be available 24×7 in Delhi. We worked with honesty and patriotism, which is why we were able to provide all these facilities.”
Manish Sisodia said, “I told Arvind Kejriwal that I am now going on a foot march among the public. People are getting a lot of support, and they are saying that the BJP did wrong to Arvind Kejriwal. They want to stop him. I told Arvind Kejriwal that the people of Delhi love him very much, and their respect and affection for him are growing. This whole case was just about bail, but the trial will continue for 7-8 years.”
The senior AAP leader shared, “Arvind Kejriwal told me that the court has cleared the case, but public approval is also needed to prove that Kejriwal is honest. Arvind Kejriwal told me, ‘I will not sit in the Chief Minister’s chair with any stain on my integrity. They have accused me of dishonesty, so I will go to the public. If the public says that Arvind Kejriwal is an honest leader and elects me, then I will sit in the Chief Minister’s chair. Arvind Kejriwal said that now I will resign from the post of Chief Minister. There is an election in three months, and I will only become Chief Minister if the public elects me again. I will go before the public and say that I have worked and I am honest. If the people of Delhi believe I am honest, they should vote for me and make me CM; otherwise, I will stay home.'”
Manish Sisodia further said, “I told Arvind Kejriwal that I feel the same way. For the past 10 years, I have worked step by step with you for the people of Delhi. Schools and universities have been built for the education of Delhi’s children. I also feel that I will sit in the Deputy Chief Minister’s position only if the public says that Manish Sisodia is honest. Only when the public says they want Manish Sisodia as the Education Minister will I take on that role.”
“In the next three to four months, we will be in the people’s court. I will continue walking step by step with Arvind Kejriwal. We will go to the public and wait for their decision. We will ask them to reinstate us in our positions if they believe we are honest. If you feel that Arvind Kejriwal is needed to build good schools and universities and that he is honest, then make him Chief Minister again. Only then will we return to our posts; we will not sit with this stigma. That is why we have left our positions and come among you,” he affirmed.
Manish Sisodia asserted, “Arvind Kejriwal is the first leader in the country’s history to lead governments in two states, yet he resigned from the Chief Minister’s post. To those who tried to break us internally and externally over the past 17 months, I want to say that Arvind Kejriwal will continue to fight this battle against the dictatorial Ravana, the same way Lord Ram did, and I will walk on the same path as Lakshmana. No dictatorship in the world can break me.”
During this, AAP’s Delhi State Convenor, Gopal Rai, said that the people of Delhi elected Arvind Kejriwal’s government with an overwhelming majority, and he worked for the people of Delhi with full dedication. “Through his honesty, Arvind Kejriwal provided free electricity and water, good schools, hospitals, Mohalla clinics, free bus travel for women, and pilgrimage facilities for the elderly. Seeing this, the BJP became upset.”
The AAP Delhi State Convenor continued, “The BJP first tried to stop the work through the LG, but the work continued. After that, they imprisoned Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Education Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, MP Sanjay Singh, and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. When the work in Delhi didn’t stop despite these efforts, the BJP thought that, like in other states, it could topple the Delhi government by putting the top leadership of the AAP in jail.”
He further said, “The BJP may have the power of the ED and CBI, as well as money and influence, but Arvind Kejriwal has the power of public support.”
“Arvind Kejriwal is the only leader in the world who has the courage to stand at a crossroads and say, ‘If I am honest, then vote for me, and if I am dishonest, then don’t vote for me.’ The new government in Delhi will continue Arvind Kejriwal’s work. It is also our responsibility to ensure that the people of Delhi give an overwhelming majority to Arvind Kejriwal in the upcoming assembly elections and make him the Chief Minister again,” concluded the senior AAP leader.
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