I.N.D.I.A. bloc unites after Kejriwal's arrest

NEW DELHI: The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seemed to have united the Opposition parties at the national level. In a bid to capitalise on the situation, the Opposition camp leaders on Friday met with the Chief Election Commissioner over the issue, describing it as a blatant attempt to stifle dissent and undermine the democratic process in the country.

According to the Opposition bloc, Kejriwal’s arrest is a diversionary tactic to deflect attention from the electoral bond issue. The BJP, however, accused the Opposition of peddling lies on the issue, asserting that those who are corrupt will go to jail.

As the political war of words intensified, the Congress claimed that the action against Kejriwal shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “rattled” by the strength of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. The party asserted that it will further strengthen the alliance in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said: "This is vendetta politics. It has become clear that the Prime Minister and the home minister (Amit Shah) are rattled by the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, which is a strong alliance. This is not an alliance of seats...it is a janbandhan (people's alliance)… It has become clear from this step that we are going to get the mandate in this election.”

Backing Kejriwal, DMK leader M.K. Stalin said the arrest is driven by the BJP’s “fear of a decade of failures and the imminent defeat” in the upcoming general election.

Slamming the BJP, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said: “They can put leaders in jail but not the public, which will teach them a lesson.”

The TMC termed the Delhi CM’s arrest ahead of the Lok Sabha polls a “calculated assault on the Opposition leaders and a breach of the model code of conduct by the BJP". TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee dubbed the arrest a "blatant assault on democracy”.

Terming the arrest as a “blot” on democracy, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said that Kejriwal’s arrest shows the ruling party's "remarkable degree of nervousness".

“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 election being announced is a blot on democracy," Abdullah said in a post on X.

Deriding the support extended to the Delhi CM by the Opposition leaders, BJP’s Sambit Patra accused the AAP leaders of peddling lies on the issue and asserted that those involved in corruption will go to jail. Patra said the Opposition's stand on the issue is a “show of brotherhood among thieves”.

Lashing out at the AAP for its assertion that Kejriwal will run the government from jail, BJP Rajya Sabha member Sudhanshu Trivedi said Kejriwal's decision to continue as chief minister despite being arrested makes him the first such chief minister.

“Kejriwal's continuation raises serious questions for democracy and exposes his true identity after he claimed to usher in a new politics under the garb of honesty,” said the BJP leader.

Posing a question to the Opposition leaders, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Prakash Javadekar asked, “If there was no corruption and if it was a people's welfare policy, then why was Delhi’s liquor policy withdrawn?"
Many social media users uploaded the complaint by several Congress leaders, including Ajay Maken, to the then Delhi police commissioner, seeking action against Kejriwal “for his role” in the "excise scam". Some social media handles considered close to the BJP also uploaded earlier videos of some Congress leaders demanding action against the AAP leader over the excise scam.

The BJP spin doctors argue that Kejriwal's arrest will serve as a significant setback to the Opposition's electoral prospects. For the saffron party's strategists, the arrest "will have minimal, if any, impact on the upcoming Lok Sabha polls."

The BJP feels that Kejriwal and the AAP’s “kattar imaandar” pitch will be further dented after the ED’s action in connection with an excise policy-linked money laundering case. Many BJP leaders posed questions to the AAP and its I.N.D.I.A. camp members, asking if there was no corruption then why the liquor policy was scrapped.

Several BJP leaders recalled Kejriwal's claim of probity and past allegations of corruption against politicians, including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, NCP supreme Sharad Pawar, among others, while seeking their arrest, as they claimed that he has been exposed now.

While the INDIA camp leaders came out in support of Kejriwal, the AAP convenor’s one-time mentor and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare said the AAP leader was arrested “because of his deeds.”

Noting that he had written a letter to Kejriwal against the excise policy move by the Delhi government. “There are other issues in society. Everyone knows that liquor is bad... Despite my letters, he did not change his stance and finally got arrested. He has been arrested because of his deeds…Now that he has been arrested, it is the courts and the government that will decide what is right and what is wrong,” Hazare told the media in Maharashtra’s Ralegan Siddhi.

Soon after Kejriwal was arrested late on Thursday evening, the Congress alleged that the BJP was scared of the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, creating all kinds of problems for the Opposition out of panic.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the "arrogant" BJP was making false claims of an electoral victory every day and trying to weaken the Opposition by indulging in "illegal means" ahead of the polls.

Gandhi alleged that a "scared dictator" wants to create a dead democracy and the I.N.D.I.A. bloc will give a befitting reply to such designs.