After 17 months behind bars, senior AAP leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia walked out of Tihar jail on Friday. While speaking to the reporters and party workers gathered outside the jail, Sisodia said that he got bail due to the power of the Constitution and democracy.
I am forever indebted to Babasaheb, said Sisodia.
The Supreme Court granted bail to the former deputy chief minister in connection with the corruption and money laundering cases linked to the Delhi excise policy case.
Several party workers and leaders gathered outside the jail showered rose petals on him as he walked out of the jail.
"We have brought this legal battle to its logical end through the Constitution. I thank you all for being with me," Sisodia said.
"Not only me but every person of Delhi, and children of the country were with me emotionally in jail. I thank the Supreme Court from the bottom of my heart for using the power of the Constitution to give a tight slap to the dictatorship in the country," he said.
Sisodia also expressed confidence that the same power of the Constitution will soon release Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal is currently lodged in Tihar jail in connection with the same case.
Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 last year over irregularities in the Delhi excise policy. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in the money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 last year. He resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28 2023.
He also expressed confidence that the same power will ensure the release of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
"Ever since this order came in the morning, every inch of my skin has been feeling indebted to Babasaheb. I don't understand how will I pay off this debt to Babasaheb," said Sisodia.
AAP called the release of Sisodia a "victory of truth". "The entire country is happy today as Manish Sisodia, hero of the Delhi education revolution, got bail," said Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha.