Sanjay Singh arrest: Congress’s Singhvi says unity needed; INDIA parties slam govt

Several parties of the INDIA bloc slammed the government.

While Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal called the arrest of Singh “completely illegal”, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said the BJP is troubling regional parties which are doing good work. Senior TMC leader Derek O’Brien said the “ED is not functional in BJP ruled states.”

“The arrest of Sanjay Singh is completely illegal. This shows (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji’s nervousness. They will arrest many more opposition leaders until the elections,” Kejriwal said.

“Yesterday, journalists were targeted. And today AAP leader Sanjay Singh was arrested. The BJP is troubling regional parties which are doing good work. The fact is that if you speak the truth, speak against the present government, ask questions, raise the voice of the people.. then there will be attempts to crush you..stifle your voice and tarnish your image,” Yadav said.

Yadav’s party colleague and RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said Singh was arrested by one of the affiliated organisations of the BJP.

“Sanjay Singh has not been arrested by the ED. He has been arrested by one of the affiliated organisations of Modi, Amit Shah and BJP… which include ED, CBI and Income Tax… in this case ED. The dark days have started… Yesterday, it was the turn of journalists associated with NewsClick and today it was Sanjay Singh. Meanwhile, look at the background. The report of the Bihar caste survey has come… the Prime Minister is rattled.. His party does not know what to do… they have to do headline management and also scare the opposition leaders,” Jha said.

He said the BJP is left with no political instrument to counter the opposition. “They don’t have the language, idiom…they have nothing to say…and nothing to give…so what do they do? They are targeting each and every opposition leader and party to scare them. In this era of dictatorship..jo dar gaya wo margaya. The dictator is himself scared,” he said.

Condemning the arrest of Singh, senior JD(U) leader K C Tyagi alleged that investigative agencies are being misused at the instance of the Government.

“I condemn the arrest of Sanjay Singh. He has been stridently raising his voice against the Government’s bad policies for a long time. This action was aimed at tarnishing the image of the Delhi government and the AAP,” Tyagi said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said the arrest of Singh shows that the BJP is rattled.

Condemn the arrest of Sanjay Singh ji by ED; it shows how rattled BJP is hence going after opposition. I repeat, it is a shame that today our central agencies have been so undermined that they have become mere tools in the hands of the ruling dispensation to use for its politics.

— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) October 4, 2023

“Condemn the arrest of Sanjay Singh by ED; it shows how rattled BJP is hence going after opposition. It is a shame that today our central agencies have been so undermined that they have become mere tools in the hands of the ruling dispensation to use for its politics,” she said.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also hit out at the BJP, saying the ruling party seems to be on a spree to arrest opposition leaders ahead of next year’s general elections and accused it of destroying the level playing field.

Ruling party seems to be on an arresting spree only to destroy whatever is left of the level playing field in the run up to general elections. Central agencies are being weaponised & misused on BJPs behest. But then again its the same party that almost changed the name of this… https://t.co/kkR2k3Xb8x

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) October 4, 2023

“(The) ruling party seems to be on an arresting spree only to destroy whatever is left of the level playing field in the run-up to (the) general elections…..Central agencies are being weaponised and misused on the BJPs behest. But then again it is the same party that almost changed the name of this country owing to its insecurity about the INDIA alliance,” she said.

“Strongly condemn the outrageous arrest of AAP MP Sanjay Singh. The ED under Modi routinely arrests political opponents on grounds of “non cooperation” for not accepting their fabricated statements. For the sake of “India that is Bharat” Modi govt must go,” CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

NCP leader Supriya Sule alleged that an “invisible hand” is exploiting central agencies.

“Deeply troubled by the politically motivated arrest of @AamAadmiParty Leader and Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh (@SanjayAzadSln). It’s clear that some ‘Invisible Hand’ in Delhi is exploiting ICE (Income Tax – CBI and ED) to stifle democratic voices. We stand united and resolute with Sanjay Singh and AAP in defense of democracy,” she posted on X.