Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to draw his attention to Manish Sisodia's arrest, stressing the importance of dispelling “widespread perception” that the Aam Aadmi Party leader is being “targeted for political reasons.” Pinarayi Vijayan said he won't comment on the merits of the case but added that the arrest of Sisodia has “lent further force to the argument about certain actions of the central investigation agencies.”
“Manish Sisodia is an elected representative of the people and has been appearing before the investigating agencies in response to their summons. Unless the arrest was an imperative for preventing the impediment to the investigation, the desirable act would have been to avoid it,” the letter read.
“As we emphasise on the principle of cooperative federalism, excessive actions on the part of anyone concerned should be avoided.”
The letter further stated, "In this matter, I hope that guidance from the Hon'ble Prime Minister will go a long way in changing the present perception, which is reflected in the letter of the important political leaders including some Chief Ministers in this matter".
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal shared a copy of the letter on Twitter and thanked his Kerala counterpart for raising voice against “illegal arrests of leaders across India.”
Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier called Sisodia’s arrest an “attack on democracy” and alleged that the central agencies were being used by the Union government to “intimidate” opposition-ruled states and their leaders.
{{/usCountry}}Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier called Sisodia’s arrest an “attack on democracy” and alleged that the central agencies were being used by the Union government to “intimidate” opposition-ruled states and their leaders.
{{/usCountry}}“The arrest (of) Manish Sisodia by CBI is another example how the ruling BJP misuses the central agencies to intimidate opposition. It is a blatant misuse of power and all democratic forces should oppose it. Such regressive steps undermine the very foundation of our nation and it should be resisted,” he tweeted last week.
CBI arrested Sisodia in connection to its probe into alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped excise policy. On Monday, a Delhi court remanded him to 14 days in judicial custody after the expiry of CBI custody in the case.