Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring against the AAP government and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged assault cases of former Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash.
The Minister’s remark came soon after a special court on Wednesday discharged Kejriwal and nine other AAP leaders, including Sisodia from the alleged assault of CS which had occurred during a meeting at Kejriwal’s residence on February 19, 2018.
“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 said addressing a press conference on Wednesday.
Prakash, the then chief secretary of Delhi, had alleged that he was assaulted during a meeting at the chief minister’s residence in 2018.
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.
“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.
Prakash had then alleged that he was assaulted during a meeting at the chief minister’s residence on February 19, 2018. On the basis of his complaint, Delhi had lodged an FIR against Kejriwal, Sisodia, and 11 other AAP MLAs.
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.
BJP Spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “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 appologise to Prakash and the people of Delhi.”