Akhilesh Yadav said the CBI raid won't scare Manish Sisodia or AAP. (File)
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said searches by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will not scare the latter or the Aam Aadmi Party.
He also said the AAP may upset the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's plans in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, both of which will see Assembly polls later this year, and this was worrying the party.
The CBI on Friday morning carried out searches at the residences of Mr Sisodia and IAS officer Arava Gopi Krishna and 19 other locations after registering an FIR in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
"I don't feel a party like AAP or a leader like Sisodia will get perturbed by CBI raids, ED etc. The BJP is frightened that the AAP is going to upset their plans in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. That is why the BJP is using CBI, ED etc against opposition parties and leaders," Mr Yadav, who was in Gwalior to attend a community function, told reporters.
He also said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar dumping the BJP to form government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal has sent a good message to the opposition in different states.
"The ruling BJP has no answer to farmers' distress, unemployment and price rise. Its decisions like note ban and the imposition of Goods and Services Tax have ruined the economy," Mr Yadav alleged.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)