‘Dead democracy’: Will Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest unite India’s opposition?
Al Jazeera
Arrest of top opposition leader ahead of election sparks new accusations against PM Modi of trying to crush democracy.
New Delhi, India – The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by India’s financial crime investigation agency on Thursday night has triggered near-unanimous condemnation from the country’s fragile opposition, with some leaders warning of a people’s “revolution” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kejriwal’s arrest, weeks before the first round of India’s mammoth seven-phase national elections, comes on the heels of similar arrests of opposition leaders and raids on their properties by law enforcement agencies. India’s biggest opposition party, the Congress, said Thursday morning that it was unable to continue campaigning because all its bank accounts had been frozen in connection with an ongoing tax dispute.
The latest arrest also plunged India’s capital into an unprecedented constitutional crisis – it is the first time that Delhi’s serving chief minister has been arrested. Calling it “dirty politics” by Modi over a “bogus case”, a spokesperson for Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) told Al Jazeera that the party leader would not resign, and, rather, “run the government from jail”.
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been investigating corruption allegations in a liquor policy implemented by Kejriwal’s government in 2022. The policy allegedly gave undue advantages to private retailers and has led to the arrests of ministers, officials and an executive of the Indian arm of French spirits giant Pernod Ricard.
Before the arrest, the agency had summoned 55-year-old Kejriwal nine times for questioning. The chief minister refused to appear before the authorities. Now, he joins almost the entire top leadership of his party – former deputy chief minister, Manish Sisodia, and former ministers Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh – in prison, deepening challenges for the AAP, which runs two opposition-ruled states: Delhi and Punjab.
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