It's Kejriwal vs Modi in 2024: Manish Sisodia, AAP use CBI action in Delhi excise case to kick off Lok Sabha campaign

A day after Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia being raided by the CBI over allegations of corruption in the liquor policy, the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday said that by targeting Arvind Kejriwal, the BJP was actually positioning the AAP national convenor as the principal challenger to Narendra Modi ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Hitting back at Union Minister Anurag Thakur for calling Kejriwal "kingpin of irregularities" in the Delhi Excise Policy, the AAP said the country is watching how PM Modi is "misusing" the central probe agencies to "harass" the Delhi government.

As AAP leaders projected their party chief as an alternative to Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, BJP MP Parvesh Verma on Saturday hit back saying claims made by "four people" should not be taken seriously.

"Was there a survey by any news channel? Was any survey conducted among the people on whether Kejriwal can challenge Modi? This is being said by four AAP members -Saurabh Bhardwaj, Sanjay Singh, Atishi and Raghav Chadha. Who else is saying this?" Verma said in reply to a question at a press conference.

"If there is some survey among the people of the country, if they say Kejriwal could be (an alternative), we will accept it. How can you accept anything said by just four people" he asked.

As the CBI began questioning the accused in the Delhi excise policy "corruption" case in which he has been named, Sisodia on Saturday claimed it was ploy by the BJP which "fears" Arvind Kejriwal and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be a battle between the AAP chief and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sisodia, at a press conference, expressed apprehension that the agency or the ED may arrest in the next 3-4 days and alleged that it was part of the "script to stop Kejriwal who has emerged as a national alternative".

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Kejriwal, who has been aggressively taking on the BJP in Modi's home state, announced on Twitter that he will be touring Gujarat with Sisodia from Monday.

The AAP leader is facing the prospect of multiple probes as the CBI FIR, which names Sisodia and 14 others, has been shared with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which will look into the allegations of money laundering.

Also, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is looking into a maze of corporate entities associated with those named in the FIR.

The agency on Friday carried out searches at 31 places which included premises related to Sisodia as well as some bureaucrats and businessmen.

"The 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be a battle between Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It will be AAP vs BJP," Sisodia told reporters, alleging that the raids were aimed at stopping AAP chief Kejriwal's rise.

Sisodia said the BJP was not concerned about corruption but was targeting Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, whose work on education and health was being talked about in the world, and that is why Satyendar Jain was arrested by the ED in May.

Dismissing the charge, Union Minister Anurag Thakur claimed the Aam Aadmi Party's "real face has been unmasked" and referred to the deputy chief minister as "Money Shh", alleging that he "makes money and maintains silence".

"Sisodia is the accused number one in the case but Kejriwal is the kingpin behind the scam," he said.

"It is a government of revdi (freebies) and it is also a bevdi (drunkards) government," he alleged and asked why it returned over Rs 144 crore to liquor companies without the Cabinet approval.

Why was the excise policy withdrawn if it was correct as claimed by the AAP and why some "blacklisted" firms were given the liquor license, he asked.