Will meet ECI over Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, says INDIA bloc

ED on Thursday night arrested Kejriwal after questioning him at his residence, and he was produced before the Rouse Avenue court on Friday afternoon

New Delhi: The opposition leaders have condemned the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), saying that the Centre is deliberately targeting the opposition leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of misusing government agencies for political ends.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on Thursday (File Photo)

The ED on Thursday night arrested Kejriwal after questioning him at his residence, and he was produced before the Rouse Avenue court on Friday afternoon. This is the most high-profile arrest in the ongoing case.

Kejriwal has denied all such allegations and accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of playing “dirty politics”.

Expressing their support for Kejriwal, the opposition said that the probe agency’s action is a desperate action of the ruling party to stop the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader from campaigning for the upcoming general elections.

The opposition INDIA bloc also said they will meet the Election Commission of India on the issue and will protest against the Delhi CM’s arrest.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed strong objection to the deliberate targeting and arrests of opposition leaders, particularly during the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) period and decided to designate Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien and Md. Nadimul Haque to represent TMC in a crucial meeting with the election commission.

Banerjee in a post on X said, “I vehemently condemn the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, the sitting elected Chief Minister of Delhi elected by the people. I have personally reached out to Smt Sunita Kejriwal to extend my unwavering support and solidarity.”

“It’s outrageous that while elected opposition CMs are being deliberately targeted and arrested while individuals accused under CBI/ED investigations are allowed to continue their malpractices with impunity, especially after aligning with the BJP. This is a blatant assault on democracy”, she added.

Derek O’Brien in a statement to HT said, “INDIA alliance has a lot of common grounds. We are going to address the issue and will appeal to ECI and SC to provide a level playing field.”

“At 4:30 today, all INDIA parties are going to EC over the subject that even when MCC is in place and the poll process has started, CMs are being arrested. The PM is behaving like a tinpot dictator”, he added.

Congress leaders and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot called the BJP-led government a dictatorship.

“By freezing the bank accounts of Congress and arresting the Chief Minister of Delhi@ArvindKejriwalthe BJP, which is involved in the huge electoral bond scam, has made it clear that it will use all tactics to win the elections. This dictatorial tendency of BJP is bent on creating a system like China and Russia by strangulating elections based on democracy,” Gehlot posted on X.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at PM Modi saying that a scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy. “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 the elected Chief Ministers has also become a common thing. INDIA will give a befitting reply to this,” he said in a post on X.

Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad faction leader Sharad Pawar condemned Kejriwal’s arrest saying indictive misuse of central agencies to target the opposition.“Strongly condemn 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,” he said in a post on X.

National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah condemned the arrest saying it was a “blot” on democracy. “Aisi Taisi Democracy. For all the talk of 400+ seats, the ruling dispensation is displaying a remarkable degree of nervousness. Having a sitting opposition CM arrested by a pliable central agency within days of the general elections being announced is a blot on democracy,” Abdullah said in a post on X.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav condemned the arrest saying that this arrest would give birth to a new people’s revolution.

“Those who are themselves imprisoned in the fear of defeat. What will ‘they’ do by imprisoning someone else? BJP knows that it will not come to power again, due to this fear, it wants to remove the opposition leaders from the public by any means at the time of elections, arrest is just an excuse. This arrest will give birth to a new people’s revolution,” he said in a post on X.

Slamming his arrest, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Kovai Sathyan said that Kejriwal’s arrest has proved that there is a three-point agenda for the BJP.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan while condemning Kejriwal’s arrest said that it was done to silence opposition voices. “The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal is outright vicious and part of a callous plot to silence all opposition voices just ahead of the general elections. This exposes the cowardice of those who fear democratic process and calls for collective action to resist abuse of power,” he said.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema said the arrest of Kejriwal in a serious case of corruption by the ED has “exposed the real face of AAP”.“The party which came to power by painting the whole political system as corrupt has surpassed all records of corruption in a record time,” Cheema said in a post.

The Enforcement Directorate produced Kejriwal in the Rouse Avenue court on Friday and told the court that he was the kingpin and the key conspirator of the Delhi liquor policy scam. The ED is expected to request for a 10-day custody.

Additional solicitor general SV Raju also told the court that Kejriwal is the main conspirator in the Delhi liquor policy and he was directly involved in the implementation of the liquor policy.