INDIA block partners stood behind Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal after Enforcement Directorate (ED)officials arrested him on Thursday evening from his residence.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of freezing Congress’s accounts earlier in the day, tweeted: “A scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy.
While capturing all the institutions including the media, breaking up the parties, extorting money from companies, freezing the account of the main opposition party was not enough for the ‘devilish power’, now the arrest of elected chief ministers has also become a common thing. INDIA will give a befitting reply to this.”
Before Kejriwal’s arrest, another sitting CM of INDIA bloc, Hemant Soren, was arrested on January 31 in an alleged land scam.
Support from the Congress, with which Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party has forged an alliance for Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, also came from Arvinder Singh Lovely. “They (BJP) are doing this kind of thing as they are afraid of the elections… Congress’s accounts were seized, Hemant Soren was arrested and today in Delhi, just before the elections, the arrest has been done. Using the agencies is shameful. We want to make this clear that Congress will not be afraid of all these things and we will strongly fight the elections. AAP is a partner of the alliance (INDIA alliance), we are strongly standing with them and we support them,” said Lovely.
Read more: Arvind Kejriwal is first sitting chief minister to be arrested
Another senior INDIA block leader, Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Sharad Pawar strongly condemned “the vindictive misuse of central agencies to target the opposition, especially as general elections loom. This arrest showcases the depth to which BJP will stoop for power. ‘INDIA’ stands united against this unconstitutional action against #ArvindKejriwal.”
Trinamool Congress, Kejriwal’s closest ally in the INDIA bloc, wondered how a fair election can be conducted. “We vehemently condemn the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, an elected chief minister, especially when Election Commission is in charge and MCC is in place. Earlier his administrative powers were snatched through an illegal ordinance. How can we expect fair elections in India if sitting CMs and prominent opposition leaders are arrested weeks before polls? If Supreme Court and ECI fail to act now, who will stand with people against BJP’s oppressive politics in future?” tweeted Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien.
Read more: Hemant Soren arrested by ED in land scam money laundering probe
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the BJP and the Prime Minister are in panic. “Strongly condemn the arrest of Delhi CM, Shri Arvind Kejriwal by the ED. It’s the second sitting CM of the INDIA bloc to be arrested. Clearly, Modi and the BJP are in panic over people’s rejection in the ongoing elections. All opposition leaders who defected and joined the BJP are protected and patronised. They are the ‘Satya Harishchandras’! These arrests will only cement people’s desire to defeat BJP, defend democracy and Indian Constitution,” he said.
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