Manish Sisodia claims ED tried hard to break him: Forced to beg for son's fees

AAP leader Manish Sisodia claimed that the ED had unsuccessfully tried to destroy him both politically and mentally, and also attempted to create a rift between him and Arvind Kejriwal.

In Short

• Manish Sisodia accuses central agency of 'political and mental harassment'
• Says BJP tried to break the bond between him and Arvind Kejriwal
• Asserts 18 months in jail over liquor policy case did not break him

AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who spent around 18 months in jail in the liquor policy case, claimed on Sunday that he had to "beg" for his son's college fees as the Enforcement Directorate had frozen his bank accounts.

Addressing a party event in New Delhi called Janta ki Adalat (people's court), the 52-year-old leader claimed the central agency had tried multiple ways to "destroy him" both politically and mentally while he was in jail.

“When I was a journalist, I bought a small house in 2002 for Rs 5 lakh. They seized that house and took it into their possession. I had Rs 10 lakh in my bank account from my salary; they took that money too. My son studies in college, and I had to beg people to pay his fees because my bank account was frozen by the ED,” Sisodia said.

The AAP leader further said, “These people used to harass me mentally in this way. Their attempt was to break Manish Sisodia, but I am a loyal soldier in Arvind Kejriwal's team. I did not break, nor did I panic”.

Sisodia was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in February 2023 in a money laundering case linked to the liquor policy case. He walked out of jail in August this year after securing bail from the Supreme Court.

Referring to the probe agency’s claim that Kejriwal had blamed Sisodia in the liquor policy case, the AAP leader accused the BJP of trying to break the bond between him and the AAP supremo. Sisodia likened his relationship with Kejriwal to that between Lord Ram and Lord Lakshman.

“...but I replied to those who came with this message that ‘no Ravana in the world has the power to separate Lakshman from Ram’. As long as Arvind Kejriwal keeps fighting this battle as Ram against the Ravana of dictatorship, I will stand with him as Lakshman," Sisodia said.

“If Ram ji and Lakshman ji had ever been separated in the Ramayana and met again, they would have met just as we both did on September 13 after Kejriwal ji came out of jail," he added.

Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar Jail on September 13 after he secured bail from the Supreme Court. Two days later, he resigned from the Chief Minister's post, announcing that he would return to the role only after he proves his innocence in the people's court.