Invoking the BJP’s slogan of ‘Abki Baar 400 Paar’ (beyond 400 seats this time), Kharge said, ” Waqt Hai Badlaw Ka..Abki Baar.. Satta Ke Bahar .”…reports Asian Lite News
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the excise policy case, as he accused the latter of resorting to ‘dictatorial tactics’ to destroy democracy in the country.
The Congress leader also accused the BJP-led NDA government of ‘capturing institutions’, including the media.
Using the words ‘devilish power’ to take a veiled swipe at the Centre, Rahul Gandhi posted from his X handle, “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, and freezing the accounts 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.”
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He said that the opposition INDIA bloc will give a “befitting reply to this”.
Meanwhile, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge called Kejriwal’s arrest, “a step taken to weaken the opposition before the Lok Sabha election”.
“The arrogant BJP, which makes false claims of victory every day, is trying to weaken the opposition by all means and illegal means before the elections. If there was real confidence in victory, then the accounts of the main opposition party – the Congress Party, would not have been frozen by misusing the constitutional institutions; leaders of opposition parties would not have been targeted right before the elections,” Kharge posted from his X handle.
Invoking the BJP’s slogan of ‘Abki Baar 400 Paar’ (beyond 400 seats this time), Kharge said, ” Waqt Hai Badlaw Ka..Abki Baar.. Satta Ke Bahar .”
“The truth is that the BJP is already scared of the upcoming election results and its panic is creating all kinds of problems for the Opposition. Waqt Hai Badlaw Ka..Abki Baar.. Satta Ke Bahar (It’s time for change! This time…out of power),” he added.
Earlier in the evening, a team from the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrived at Kejriwal’s residence on Thursday for questioning in connection with the liquor policy case. The team conducted a search operation at his residence, sources said.
The ED team reached his residence for questioning hours after the Delhi High Court refused interim protection to Kejriwal from coercive action in connection with the excise policy case.
AAP workers also staged a protest outside the residence of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
Denying him interim protection from arrest in the liquor policy case, the Delhi HC ruled that, in this state, it was not inclined to do so.
The court passed down the directive during the hearing on a plea by the AAP supremo, urging coercive action against him in connection with the excise policy case.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders on Thursday supported the ED action to arrest the Delhi Chief Minister in the Delhi excise policy case and said “truth had to prevail.”
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said Arvind Kejriwal has been continuously making excuses in the liquor policy scam since 2020-21 “and the kind of political theatrics he was doing has been put to an end today.”
“Today, finally, the truth triumphed and I believe that the conspiracy hatched by Arvind Kejriwal and his government to push the youth into alcoholism was bound to result in this. The truth had to prevail and Arvind Kejriwal had to be punished for his sins,” Sachdeva said.
ED had issued repeated summons to the AAP supremo in the excise policy case and he had skipped them, pointing out that the probe agency had moved the court against him.
According to the ED, the agency wants to record Kejriwal’s statement in the case on issues like the formulation of the now-scraped excise policy, meetings held before it was finalized, and allegations of bribery.
Two senior AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are in judicial custody in the excise policy case. Sisodia, who was the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 following several rounds of questioning. On October 5, ED arrested Sanjay Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member. (ANI)
‘Kejriwal’s arrest will give birth to mass movement’
Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav lashed out at the BJP after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, saying that the move against the AAP supremo will lead to a ‘mass movement’ (jan-andolan).
Yadav, in a post on X, also jabbed the BJP saying that the party fears defeat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and hence is “trying to keep the Opposition leaders away from the public”.
“What will those, who themselves are imprisoned in fear of defeat, accomplish by imprisoning someone else? The BJP knows that it will not come to power again. Overcome with this fear, it wants to remove Opposition leaders from the public eye by any means at the time of elections. The arrest is just an excuse. It will give birth to a new people’s revolution,” Akhilesh posted.
Kejriwal was arrested on Thursday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, becoming the second chief minister after Hemant Soren to be taken into custody by the central agency in 50 days.
Kejriwal’s arrest immediately attracted the Opposition leaders’ ire, with top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that a “scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy,” while Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said that the BJP government “sinks to despicable depths” after the “unjust targeting of brother” Hemant Soren.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien said, “A large number of AAP leaders and workers had gathered at Kejriwal’s residence who shouted slogans in favour of the Chief Minister. The election process has begun. And now this! Chiefs of political parties, CMs, political leaders, election agents, workers, every opponent- being harassed & arrested like this. What will be the fate of our precious democracy? LET US ALL SAVE DEMOCRACY FROM IMPENDING DISASTER.”
A large number of AAP leaders and workers had gathered at Kejriwal’s residence who shouted slogans in favour of the Chief Minister.
His former cabinet colleagues Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain are also presently in judicial custody in money laundering cases. Sisodia was arrested in the money laundering case linked to excise policy. AAP leader Sanjay Singh was also arrested in the case. BRS leader K Kavitha was also arrested in this case last week. (ANI)
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