The Delhi Police detained Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers on Friday who gathered outside Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s residence after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided his premises.

AAP worker Sarita Singh, who was detained by Delhi Police on Friday, said that no matter how many inquiries are conducted, Delhi Deputy CM and Education Minister Manish Sisodia’s spirit will not be broken. She added that CM Arvind Kejriwal’s “politics of education and health” won’t be stopped either.

“They are announcing that they have imposed Section 144 here. Nobody raised slogans or misbehaved, or we did not do anything what do they fear? The more they stop us, the bigger we will grow,” said an AAP worker who was protesting against CBI raid.

Meanwhile, attacking the Centre on ‘the rise of Arvind Kejriwal’, former Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal said that it is the time for Bharatiya Janata Party to destabilise.

Terming the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate the “longest arms of government,” Sibal tweeted, “Now that Kejriwal is on the rise, Time for BJP to destabilise”. He further mentioned in his tweet that earlier ‘the target was Satyender Jain, now it is Sisodia.’

However, Congress leader Alka Lamba said that her party welcomes the CBI raid.

Taking to Twitter, she shared a video where she targeted AAP and Arvind Kejriwal. “If their policy was right, why they had they started the prior one by Sheila Dixit when she was CM of Delhi? AAP always criticises her tenure and now they are following her policies,” said Lamba.

Besides Lamba, former MP and late Chief Minister Sheila Dikhit’s son, Sandeep Dikshit also, while talking to ANI welcomed the decision.

“It is not suprising. We have been hearing about what has been happening in the Delhi Government for the last 7-8 years. It is surprising that the CBI raids didn’t happen earlier. Be it liquor case, construction of rooms in schools, teachers recruitment, the civil defence recruitment case or the contracts case wherever you see, there should’ve been not one but 10 CBI raids,” Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told ANI.

Dikshit alleged that the Congress has always believed that the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP have worked in collusion in Delhi to damage the prospects of Congress.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera tweeted, “The flip side to the relentless misuse of agencies against political rivals is that even legitimate, rightful actions of agencies come under a cloud of suspicion. In the process, the corrupt get away hiding behind the ‘misuse’ argument and the honest end up paying the price.”

The CBI today raided 21 places across the seven states of India in connection with the CBI’s investigation into the alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy brought in November 2021. The CBI has also registered an FIR in this connection.

Earlier in July, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena had recommended a CBI probe into Delhi’s revamped excise policy.

He approved the suspension of 11 officials over “lapses” in the implementation of the Excise Policy 2021-22.The suspended officials included Gopi Krishna and deputy excise commissioner Anand Kumar Tiwari.

On August 6, former Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal was accused by Deputy CM Manish Sisodia of changing his stand on the issue of opening liquor shops in unauthorized areas of Delhi.

(With inputs from ANI)