9 Opposition leaders to PM: Witch-hunt, agencies misused in Sisodia arrest

According to sources, AAP and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) were the driving force behind the letter. However, the move also brought to the fore divisions in the Opposition camp with the letter having no signatories from the Congress, DMK and Left parties.

Apart from AAP chief Kejriwal, TMC’s Banerjee and Rao, the leaders who signed the letter are: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann (AAP); former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah (NC); Sharad Pawar (NCP); former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray; former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav (SP); and, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav (RJD).

Kejriwal enjoys a cordial relationship with Banerjee and, over recent months, appears to have found new allies in Rao and Akhilesh Yadav.

Responding to the letter, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi accused the Opposition parties of trying to protect “each other from corruption charges”. The letter, he said, makes it clear that they are trying to “intimidate” probe agencies. He said the signatories include many leaders who face corruption charges themselves, “some even for two generations”.

9 Opposition Leaders including CM @ArvindKejriwal write to PM Modi‼️

“@msisodia‘s arrest will be cited worldwide as an example of a political witch-hunt & further confirm what the world was only suspecting- India’s democratic values stand threatened under an authoritarian BJP” pic.twitter.com/3ELL5N88UJ

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) March 5, 2023

In the letter addressed to Modi, the Opposition leaders wrote that Sisodia’s arrest “has enraged people across the country”. “Manish Sisodia is recognised globally for transforming Delhi’s school education. His arrest will be cited worldwide as an example of a political witch-hunt and further confirm what the world was only suspecting – that India’s democratic values stand threatened under an authoritarian BJP regime,” the letter stated.

It also described the timing of the cases or arrests linked to the Opposition as “politically motivated” since they “coincided with elections”. Besides, it stated, the action taken by Central agencies “since 2014” was mostly against Opposition leaders while those from their ranks who joined the BJP have been let off even though they had been named in several cases.

“For example, former Congress member and current Assam chief minister (CM) Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma was probed by the CBI and the ED in 2014 and 2015 over the Saradha chit fund scam. However, the case didn’t progress after he joined the BJP,” the letter said, while referring to other leaders such as Suvendu Adhikari, Mukul Roy and Narayan Rane.

The Opposition leaders also wrote that state governments are being undermined, and accused Governors of violating Constitutional provisions and “frequently hindering” governance. “They are wilfully undermining democratically elected state governments and choosing instead to obstruct governance as per their whims and fancies,” the letter said.

Speaking to reporters separately, Kejriwal accused the BJP of trying to overthrow his government. “Once a non-BJP government takes power, ED-CBI goes after Opposition leaders with full fury. They overthrow governments, cause rifts in parties and harass leaders,” he said.

On a political level, the Opposition letter is an indicator that parties such as AAP, BRS and TMC are not in agreement with the position taken by the Congress that the emergence of a third force would provide an advantage to BJP.

Given that Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary and senior leader Sandeep Dikshit welcomed Sisodia’s arrest even as the Congress high command criticised Central agencies without mentioning any names, it was not a surprise to see the party missing from Sunday’s letter.

Besides, the Congress and the TMC have strained ties. It has worsened following the Mamata Banerjee-led party’s recent bypoll loss in Sagardighi to the Congress and the row over the arrest of state Congress spokesperson Koustav Bagchi over remarks against the West Bengal CM.

The BRS and the Congress also do not get along and have locked horns multiple times. Last October, on the sidelines of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi ruled out any tie-up with the BRS and dismissed its national ambitions.

(With PTI)