Eight opposition parties have come together to write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that central investigation agencies are being misused against them. The move comes in the wake of the arrest of Manish Sisodia, a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who was taken into custody for alleged corruption in connection with the framing of a liquor policy for Delhi.
The letter, which was signed by leaders of parties including the Samajwadi Party, the Shiv Sena, and the Nationalist Congress Party, alleges that there has been a marked rise in the number of raids, cases lodged, and arrests of opposition leaders since 2014. The signatories argue that investigation agencies appear to be working as extended wings of the ruling dispensation, and that the timing of arrests and cases lodged often coincides with elections, indicating that they are politically motivated.
The letter also points out that politicians who join the BJP seem to be immune from investigation, citing the example of former TMC leaders Suvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy, who were under the scanner of the CBI and ED in the Narada sting operation case, but the cases did not progress after they joined the BJP ahead of the assembly election in West Bengal.
However, the Congress has stayed away from the letter, with no leader of the party among the signatories. This is seen as significant, given that the Gandhis are being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over alleged money laundering linked to Young Indian’s takeover of Associated Journals Ltd, the company which ran the National Herald newspaper. Both Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi were questioned by the ED last year.
The BJP has rejected the opposition’s allegations of political vendetta, saying that even if Manish Sisodia was the Education Minister who may have done some work for improving schools, he cannot use that as a curtain behind which he could indulge in corruption. The central agencies have also maintained that they do not arrest people over false charges and only leave them if they are not found guilty after a thorough investigation, irrespective of their political background.
The letter concludes with the hope that India is still a democratic country and that the misuse of central agencies against the opposition does not suggest that the country has transitioned from being a democracy to an autocracy.
(Inputs from NDTV)
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The Chenab Times News Desk