Delhi Police on Thursday, February 23, detained BJP workers who were marching towards the Aam Aadmi Party office to demand resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with 'Feedback Unit' alleged snooping case.

The protest came after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had earlier sanctioned prosecution of Manish Sisodia under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the alleged 'Feedback Unit' snooping case. BJP has been on offensive against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party since the news broke out.

#UPDATE | Delhi Police detained BJP workers who were marching towards Aam Aadmi Party office demanding resignation of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with 'Feedback Unit' alleged snooping case pic.twitter.com/ue9TWk2j4p

— ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2023Reacting to the home ministry's nod for prosecution, Sisodia tweeted: "Making false cases against your rivals is a sign of a weak and cowardly person. As the Aam Aadmi Party grows, many more cases will be filed against us."

What's the 'Feedback Unit' snooping case

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government was accused of collecting "political intelligence" through a feedback unit (FBU) set up by it in 2015 to check corruption. The FBU was allegedly used to "spy" on different ministries, Opposition political parties, entities and individuals.

According to News 18, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had found this in a preliminary inquiry and recommended that an FIR be registered against the deputy chief minister. Lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena had earlier approved the CBI's request to file a case against Sisodia and had forwarded the same to the MHA.

The AAP allegedly created the Feedback Unit in 2015 with an aim "to strengthen the vigilance establishment and gather feedback on the working of various government departments, autonomous bodies, or institutions". Sisodia heads the Vigilance department of the Delhi government, under which the AAP government had created the FBU.

After the complaint of an officer of the Directorate of Vigilance in 2016, a preliminary inquiry conducted by the CBI found that in addition to the assigned job, the FBU, as it was referred to in official communications, also collected "political intelligence" related to political activities of persons, political entities and political issues touching the political interest of AAP.

In a note accessed by CNN-News18, Saxena alleged there was an attempt by the Delhi government to create an agency outside its mandate. He said the agenda for creating the feedback unit was tabled without the cabinet’s approval. "It was being headed by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy CM Manish Sisodia," Saxena noted.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari told CNN-News18 that Manish Sisodia was "caught spying". He alleged that instead of working on development, they are doing illegal snooping. "A case will be registered against him. It is a worrying development. After spying, were they sharing this information with someone? This is a question of national security," Tiwari was quoted as saying.

First Published:Feb 22, 2023 8:37 AM IST