Manish Sisodia got bail on grounds of delay, not merits of case: Bansuri Swaraj

New Delhi: Amid the joyous mood in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over big relief to Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Bansuri Swaraj on Friday said that the bail was not on grounds of merit but on the basis of delay in trial.

Addressing a press conference after the Supreme Court granted bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, the BJP MP informed that this was eighth attempt by Sisodia's counsels to secure bail.

Slamming the AAP leadership, she said the party was befooling the public by projecting the jailed former CM as a "hero" and said that this was an "expected reprieve" and nothing more than this should be read into it.

"Granting of bail does not mean that he has been absolved of charges, he remains prime accused in the liquor policy case and is answerable to court of law," Bansuri said.

She also stated that Sisodia's counsels did not argue on merits of the case and sought relief only on grounds of delay.

The happiness in the AAP camp is understood but the fact that he got bail after 17 months in jail shows "gravity" of the charges and his "role" in the alleged liquor scam.

She also shed light on the charges against the former Deputy CM and highlighted that more than 170 mobile phones were destroyed at his orders, as per the chargesheet.

"It was the trial court which called him prima facie architect of Delhi liquor scam. Supreme Court found a dubious money transaction of about Rs 338 crore," she stated.

Responding to AAP MP Raghav Chadha's claims that Sisodia was jailed because of his promise of a better future to Delhi's children, she said that AAP may feign innocence but this won't clear it of the "crime" that it committed.

"Sisodia and the AAP leadership deserve full blame for pushing Delhi's children from 'paathshaala' to 'madhushaala'," she said.

When questioned on Delhi's declining education standards, she said due to AAP founder Arvind Kejriwal's insistence on sticking to the Chief Minister's post despite incarceration, the national capital is witnessing "zero governance" and "policy paralysis".