Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said BJP is living in a fool's paradise if it thinks the arrest of Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji will help them win some seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. In a joint press meeting with the CPI to protest the Centre's ordinance for Delhi, Kejriwal said all corrupt people take refuge in the BJP while the ED and the CBI are sent for the opposition leaders. Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Read | Bypass surgery advised for TN minister arrested on money laundering charges
As Kejriwal is mobilising support against Delhi's ordinance in Parliament, Kejriwal said, "If BJP thinks that by arresting its ministers, by spreading fear, the party will win some seats in the state, then they are doing a mistake. The entire country is watching."
"There was a time when CBI or ED raided someone, people used to think that they might have done some wrong. But now the situation is such that people are convinced that ED and CBI only arrest the non-corrupt. ED and CBI should be called BJP Sena because they are not investigative agencies any more," Kejriwal said.
After issuing a statement of support to the DMK after the minister's arrest, Kejriwal at the press meet condemned the manner in which Senthil was arrested and said, “The manner in which the arrest was done is objectionable. The whole country is seeing that the ED and CBI are not being sent against corrupt people. On the contrary, corrupt people everywhere are seeking refuge in the BJP. They are being protected while ED and CBi are after Opposition leaders. They will not get a single seat in Tamil Nadu. We strongly support Stalin's government.”
CPI general secretary D Raja called the arrest of Senthil Balaji 'atrocious'. "A few days ago Amit Shah was there in Tamil Nadu. As soon as he returned, the ED became aggressive. It went to the government secretariat. It's highly objectionable. How come they went inside the secretariat? These are all happening in the command of the Union government," D Raja said.
{{/usCountry}}CPI general secretary D Raja called the arrest of Senthil Balaji 'atrocious'. "A few days ago Amit Shah was there in Tamil Nadu. As soon as he returned, the ED became aggressive. It went to the government secretariat. It's highly objectionable. How come they went inside the secretariat? These are all happening in the command of the Union government," D Raja said.
{{/usCountry}}Senthil Balaji's arrest triggered a massive BJP versus Opposition ahead of the opposition's mega meet in Patna scheduled to be held on June 23. All opposition parties condemned the action while Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai shared an old video of chief minister MK Stalin accusing Senthil of corruption.