“God is with you Manish. The blessings of lakhs of children and their parents are with you. When you go to jail for the country and society, it is not a curse, it is glory. I pray to God that you return from jail soon. Children, parents and all of Delhi will be waiting for you,” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted in the morning.

Before he headed for questioning, Sisodia spent about 15 minutes at Rajghat along with MPs Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha and MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj.

In an emotional appeal to party workers gathered outside, protesting against BJP and CBI, he asked people of Delhi to take care of his family: “I might have to go to jail for about seven-eight months. I don’t fear going to jail, my only worry is for my wife, who is not doing well these days. You all have to take care of her.”

Earlier in the day, party leaders shared a photo of him with his mother – both of them smiling. Kejriwal responded: “We will take care of your family Manish, don’t worry.”

Sisodia also called Kejriwal his close friend and “political guru”. “Kejriwal ji aap chaalu rakhiye… logon ke liye aise hi ladte rahiye… You are the only hope and future of this country… keep serving the people, we have faith in you.”

He said the case against him was false and fabricated: “Friends, these people are going to arrest me today… I have complete faith in the judicial system that these false cases registered against me will be proven wrong in court, but this may take time. I may have to stay in jail for months but remember, we are sons and followers of Bhagat Singh. Bhagat Singh sacrificed his life for this country, jail is just a small thing.”

Talking about his wife, Sisodia said, “My wife has always supported me… in all my ups and downs. I remember, I used to work in a TV channel as a reporter, my career was going well … but one day, I left all that and joined Arvind Kejriwal ji. I started working with him for the people in jhuggi jhopris. The financial security ended but my wife gave me full support… Now that I am going to jail, I am very worried about her… I have only one son, he is studying in Canada. My wife is alone, you all have to take care of her.”

Sisodia also linked his arrest to AAP’s national expansion: “They are scared of Kejriwal’s rise in politics. AAP is spreading fast across the country. Today, Prime Minister Modi ji doesn’t even care about Rahul Gandhi, he is only afraid of one man and that is Kejriwal.”

He also had a message for Delhi’s school children: “I want to tell you all that your chacha ji is going to jail but it doesn’t mean it’s a holiday for you. I may be in jail for seven-eight months but will be getting all the updates about your performance. Don’t trouble your parents and get good marks and make our schools proud. Do not make your Manish chacha suffer in jail, study hard. Otherwise, I will stop eating.”