Arvind Kejriwal, with Mr Sisodia by his side, slammed the BJP for "harassing" his party leaders.
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal embarked on a two-day visit to poll-bound Gujarat from today. This is Mr Kejriwal's fifth visit to the state in less than a month; he is accompanied by Manish Sisodia.
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Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in the eye of a political storm over corruption allegations, today doubled down on his sensational claims against the BJP. "I got a message. It had two parts. One said that all CBI and ED cases against me will be shut down. The other part asked me to leave AAP and join the BJP, and they'll make me a Chief Minister candidate since BJP has no CM candidate in Delhi. All of these cases are false. I'm with Kejriwal because I am honest," he said at a press conference in Ahmedabad.
He claimed that those who messaged him said they got Suvendu Adhikari, Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Jayant Panda to join the BJP and asked him to trust them. Calling Arvind Kejriwal, his political guru, he said he'd never betray him. "My message to BJP on offer to make me CM candidate - @ArvindKejriwal is my political guru, I will never betray him. I did not come here to become CM, my dream is - every child of the country should get a good education, and only then India will become the number 1 country. Only Kejriwal ji can do this work in the whole country," Mr Sisodia tweeted in Hindi.
Arvind Kejriwal, with Mr Sisodia by his side, slammed the BJP for "harassing" his party leaders. "The man who showed us a miracle by making quality government schools has been raided by CBI. Are you not ashamed? Such a man should be given the Bharat Ratna. He should be consulted for education. Everybody in the country is upset over what happened," he said, backing his deputy.
"Manish Sisodia may be arrested, who knows I may also be arrested; all this is being done for Gujarat elections," Mr Kejriwal added.
Party sources have said raids on Mr Sisodia will figure prominently in campaigns to counter the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections in BJP-ruled Gujarat.
"The CBI action against Mr Sisodia has turned the public sentiment in our favour and we will go big with this issue during our campaigns because he has a very clean image," party sources earlier told news agency PTI.
"On Monday, Manish ji and I will go to Gujarat for two days to guarantee education and health. Like Delhi, Gujarat will also have good schools, good hospitals and Mohalla clinics. Everyone will get free good quality education and good healthcare treatment. People will be relieved, we will also interact with youth," Mr Kejriwal said in a tweet.
The CBI on Friday carried out searches at 31 places including Mr Sisodia's residence and the premises of some bureaucrats. Top leaders from both AAP and BJP have been addressing press conferences accusing each other of corruption. AAP alleges that cases against Mr Sisodia and other leaders are cooked up because the BJP fears the popularity of the party and its chief Arvind Kejriwal.
During an earlier visit to north Gujarat, Mr Kejriwal made several promises to the people of Gujarat including providing free electricity supply and improving healthcare services in the state. He has also already promised free education in the state and auditing of private schools if his party is voted to power. AAP has also announced 10 lakh jobs for the youth of the state and an employment guarantee scheme, in addition to announcing monthly allowances for women. Arvind Kejriwal has reached out to the tribal community as well by announcing several welfare measures.
In the last assembly elections in the state, all of AAP's 29 candidates lost their deposits. AAP's Gujarat hope has been fuelled by its performance in the February 2021 Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) polls in which the BJP won 93 seats, while Aam Aadmi Party bagged 27 seats.
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