'Many Sisodias' behind bars in India, terror of ED, CBI prevails: Gehlot

JAIPUR: A day after the CBI arrested Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday said ''many Sisodias'' have been arrested in the country but people don't get to know about them.

There is ''terror'' of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Income Tax department in the country, while the judiciary and Election Commission are under pressure, he claimed.

Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on Sunday evening in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.

A special court in Delhi on Monday sent him to five-day CBI custody for effective interrogation to unravel the alleged scam.

''Many Manish Sisodias have been arrested in the country,'' Gehlot told reporters in Sikar in response to a question.

People don't find out about them. They found out about Sisodia's arrest because he is a deputy chief minister, he said.

''There are many such instances where journalists, writers and litterateurs have been put behind bars. The general public will have to think about what is happening in the country,'' he said.

Delhi's ruling AAP claims Sisodia is innocent and has been arrested due to political vendetta. The party on Monday staged protests across the country against Sisodia's arrest.

Gehlot further claimed there is ''terror'' of central probe agencies and an atmosphere of tension and violence prevails in the country.

''There is severe inflation, unemployment, an atmosphere of tension and violence in the country, there is terror of ED, Income Tax department and CBI. The judiciary and the Election Commission are under pressure and the gap between the rich and the poor is growing. These issues have shaken the whole country,'' the chief minister said.

''The government of India is not paying attention to this. All... issues are of great importance. It is its duty to pay attention to them when the Opposition raises them through dharnas, demonstrations and yatras ... like (Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi did,'' he said.

It is the country's misfortune that these ''fascist'' people, who have no faith in democracy, have formed the government by putting on the mask of democracy.

Referring to the Rajasthan government's Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme and other welfare initiatives, Gehlot said these measures are being discussed across the country and the state has set an example.