Party leaders claimed his release is a jolt to the “mission” to defame AAP.”Sisodia was doing such noble work, and he was put behind bars for 17 months in a fake case. There was anger among the people of Delhi over his arrest, and his release will have a positive impact on our party. We will win two or four seats more than last time. In fact, I think we will win and effect a clean sweep,” senior party leader and MLA Durgesh Pathak said.Celebrations also broke out at the AAP office and the residence of Sisodia soon after the Supreme Court granted bail to him.In a statement, the party said the apex court order was a “tight slap” on the “dictatorship” of the BJP-led Centre but rued that the relief came after a year’s delay. It hoped that other jailed leaders of the AAP, including supremo Arvind Kejriwal, would also get justice.The BJP, however, called the apex court verdict a “procedural order” and asserted that it does not absolve Sisodia of the offence. BJP’s New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj said the AAP leader was given bail because of his appeal based on “delay in trial.”Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva too hit out at the AAP, saying, “Those who were alleging murder of democracy on the SC decision in the MCD Alderman case are now hailing the bail granted by the court to Sisodia as the victory of truth.””Is it the victory of truth that bail was granted to Sisodia with conditions like surrendering his passport, reporting to the police station twice a week, keeping the location of his mobile phone on round the clock, and depositing bonds of Rs 30 lakh before being released?” Sachdeva questioned.Meanwhile, the functioning of the Delhi government hit by the arrest of Kejriwal is expected to be back on track if Sisodia is restored to his previous position, even though the process will take time, officers and constitutional experts said.Sisodia held portfolios of 18 departments, including education, finance, excise, health and PWD, among others, besides being the deputy of Kejriwal before his resignation on February 28 last year.Sisodia would take care of the Delhi government’s functioning in the absence of the chief minister when he used to leave for annual sessions of vipassana meditation for a few days.Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 of last year for purported irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021–22.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in the money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 last year.Sisodia sought bail, contending that he has been in custody for 17 months and the trial against him has not yet started.The ED and the CBI had opposed his bail pleas.
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