- kerala cmKerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the arrest of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the alleged excise policy scam case, saying the ‘widespread perception’ that the AAP leader is being “targeted” needs to be dispelled.
The Kerala Chief Minister in his letter said, “I write this letter to invite the kind attention of the prime minister to the voices of protest that are being raised by leaders of several opposition parties, including some state chief ministers, on the arrest of Manish Sisodia.”
“While refraining from commenting on the merits of the case under investigation, let me submit that the arrest of Sisodia has lent further force to the argument about certain actions of the central investigation agencies,” Vijayan said in the letter.
It is the golden principle of natural justice that justice should not only be done, but seem to be done too, the Kerala chief minister said in the letter.
Vijayan said Manish Sisodia is an elected representative of the people and has been appearing before the investigating agencies in response to their summons.
“Unless the arrest was an imperative for preventing the impediment to the investigation, the desirable act would have been to avoid it,” the letter read.
“As per information coming out in public domain, nothing incriminating like cash seizure has taken place in the case of Sisodia. While law has to take its course, it is equally important that the widespread perception that Sisodia is being targeted for political reasons need to be dispelled. As we emphasise on the principle of cooperative federalism, excessive actions on the part of anyone concerned should be avoided,” Vijayan said in his letter.
The Kerala chief minister in the letter further said that in this matter, he hoped that guidance from the prime minister will go a long way in changing the present perception, which is reflected in the letter of the important political leaders including some chief ministers in this matter.