Delhi BJP leaders, including MPs and MLAs, protested outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Sunday demanding the expulsion of his deputy Manish Sisodia from the Cabinet over corruption allegations.
The chief of the BJP's Delhi unit Adesh Gupta alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia "colluded with the liquor mafia to rob the city exchequer of crores of rupees".
"Sisodia has now understood that the CBI is going to unveil all the layers of his corruption. Now he is engaged in reversing the whole issue. They are using different tactics to mislead the CBI," a statement quoted Gupta as saying.
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry has been recommended by the Delhi Lt Governor into the alleged violation of rules and procedural lapses in the implementation of the Excise Policy 2021-22.
Under the policy, implemented by the AAP government in Delhi on November 17, 2021, private firms were issued retail licences for 849 liquor vends across the city divided into 32 zones. The policy has now been withdrawn.
Leading the protest outside Kejriwal's residence on Sunday, Gupta said his party will continue the stir till Sisodia is removed from the cabinet.
MPs Parvesh Verma and Hans Raj Hans, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Delhi BJP General Secretary Kuljeet Singh Chahal, MLAs Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, O P Sharma, Anil Vajpayee, Abhay Verma and Jitendra Mahajan were among those present at the protest.
"We demand that Sisodia be immediately sacked from the Cabinet so that Delhi can be prevented from further ruin," Gupta said in the statement.
West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma alleged that instead of saving Delhi from getting ruined, Kejriwal is doing "political tourism".
"Since a CBI inquiry has been instituted against the deputy chief minister, Sisodia should immediately resign from his post if he has any morality left," the statement quoted Verma as saying.
Bidhuri alleged that the Excise Policy 2021-22 was approved by ignoring the rules and regulations.