New Delhi: Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring against the AAP government and CM Arvind Kejriwal In a controversial case of alleged assault on former Chief Secretary of Delhi, Anshu Prakash.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Sisodia said: "Today is the day of victory for all the people of Delhi because the court has refused to frame charges against Arvind Kejriwal. Today's court judgment proved that it was a well-planned conspiracy to defame the AAP government. The BJP tried its best to defame Kejriwal, but the court gave the justice."
Sisodia's remark came soon after a special court on Wednesday discharged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other nine Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including Sisodia for an alleged assault that took place on the intervening night of February 19 and 20, 2018 at Kejriwal's residence, where Prakash was called for a meeting.
Prakash had claimed that he was called for a midnight meeting to discuss the release of the party's advertisements related to the government completing three years in office and manhandled and assaulted him during the course of the meeting. On the basis of his complaint, Delhi had lodged an FIR against Kejriwal, Sisodia and 11 other AAP MLAs.
"Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal ji discharged by Court in fabricated CS assault case. Satyamav Jayate," Sisodia tweeted after the court verdict.
"The court said that all allegations in the matter were false and baseless. The chief minister was acquitted today in that false case," Sisodia added.
He reiterated that the case was just a 'conspiracy' to bring down the Kejriwal government. "We had been saying that the allegations were false. It was a conspiracy hatched against the chief minister," he added.
The incident had sparked huge controversy and bureaucrats in the Delhi government had then launched an unprecedented show of retaliation and they had even stopped attending Cabinet meetings.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, responding on the matter, the Delhi unit of the BJP claimed that fixing of charges against two AAP MLAs (Amanuttullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal) in the case of beating and scuffle with Andhu Prakash proved that the CS was beaten that night at Kejriwal's residence.
"Arvind Kejriwal and MLAs may have been given clean chit due to lack of evidence but the fixing of charges against Khan and Jarwal shows that beating took place in CM's presence and thus Chief Minister is morally responsible. Kejriwal should come forward and apologise to Prakash and the people of Delhi" said BJP Spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor.