Officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) visited the official residence of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday to seek clarifications in connection with a preliminary enquiry (PE) against him related to alleged irregularities in the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) ‘Talk to AK’ campaign.
The campaign, an interactive session by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, was held on July 17 last year, in which he discussed an array of issues, including the relationship between the Centre and the Delhi government. This session live streamed on www.talktoak.com.
The CBI clarified that no search or raid was conducted at Mr. Sisodia’s residence as this was just a preliminary enquiry, which was initiated in January based on a complaint by the Delhi government’s Vigilance Department.
The complaint alleged that a consultant of a well-known public relations firm, Perfect Relations, was hired by the Delhi government to promote the ‘Talk to AK’ campaign and a proposal of ₹1.5 crore was prepared for this purpose.
It was further alleged that no tender was floated and that the government, despite objections from the Principal Secretary, went ahead with the proposal and the consultant spent the money thereby creating a liability for the government. The CBI’s preliminary enquiry is looking into the alleged role of Mr. Sisodia and others in the case.
‘Did nothing wrong’
“We have done nothing wrong, ready to face any probe. Will keep working for Delhi's development without fear,” Mr. Sisodia tweeted, after the visit.
The AAP, meanwhile, said that this “raid” was yet another attempt by the BJP government to derail the AAP government.
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said that if the BJP has such hatred and vengeance against the AAP government then they should dissolve the government instead of making work difficult everyday.
