Sisodia planted manufactured opinions in support of excise policy: CBI

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia "planted" manufactured public opinions in support of the excise policy by getting favourable views from interns of Delhi Minority Commission to make grounds for the now scrapped policy, the CBI has alleged in its supplementary charge sheet.

The Delhi government had constituted an expert committee on overhauling the excise policy, which had given its recommendations. Sisodia was unhappy with the recommendations, so he asked the then excise commissioner Rahul Singh to seek public opinion by placing the Dhawan Committee report on web site, the agency alleged in the charge sheet filed before the Special CBI court on April 25.

In the supplementary charge sheet filed in the case against Sisodia and other accused, the central agency said he "dishonestly and fraudulently" wanted to prepare grounds through "fabricated public opinions" for incorporating provisions in the policy as per his "pre-conceived" ideas.

The charge sheet said Sisodia "g