India’s Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a key official of the party that governs the capital Delhi, which may imperil its aspirations of becoming a challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in next year’s national elections.
The investigative agency on Sunday arrested Manish Sisodia, deputy chief minister of Delhi and a key functionary of the Aam Aadmi Party, over allegations of irregularities in the framing and implementation of a new excise policy, the CBI agency said in a statement.
The Aam Aadmi Party has accused Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party of conducting a witch hunt against its leaders and called Sisodia’s arrest an attempt to malign the party’s popularity under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, who’s Delhi’s chief minister.
Sisodia and his party denied any wrongdoing.
The Aam Aadmi Party, which grew out of an anti-corruption movement a decade ago, also governs the northern state of Punjab. It is trying to make inroads into more states and its chief Kejriwal is seen to hold national ambitions.
