Sharad Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, on Friday condemned the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party will have to pay the price for the “misuse of power”.
Speaking to reporters at Baramati in Maharashtra's Pune district, Pawar said he is confident people will show their collective power in the elections the way they had demonstrated during Emergency.
Referring to Kejriwal's arrest, Pawar (83) said federal agencies are being misused to suppress the voice of the Opposition.
The ED on Thursday arrested Kejriwal, who is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, in an excise policy-linked money laundering case, triggering criticism from opposition INDIA bloc leaders.
“Congress' bank accounts have been frozen. As the accounts are frozen, their financial management for an election campaign has been hit. It shows that there is an attempt to stop the grand old party from using its resources for the elections. Such an extreme action was never taken in the past,” said the NCP-SP chief.
He said central agencies like ED are being used to take action against some key leaders from states.
“They arrested Hemant Soren (ex-CM of Jharkhand), who belongs to the tribal class. Now, Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested in a case related to (Delhi) liquor policy. We were anticipating some action against him,” said the veteran politician.
The liquor policy was decided by the state cabinet of the Delhi government as it is their right to chalk out policies for the state, Pawar said.
He said it is wrong to arrest a chief minister and his colleagues over a policy. “Today BJP has gone to such an extent where a chief minister has been arrested by misuse of power,” Pawar said.
Though it is expected that the elections should happen in a free and fair environment, there is a sense of worry now, he rued.
“I condemn the action against Kejriwal as a constituent of INDIA bloc. We will stand strong behind Kejriwal,” he said.
Asked whether the action against the AAP leader will backfire on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, Pawar said, “Hundred per cent. They will have to pay the price. He became CM three times. He enjoys a lot of public support.”
The ED arrested Kejriwal in an excise policy-linked money laundering case on Thursday night.
The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi high vourt refused to grant protection to the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the agency.
The 55-year-old leader's arrest, amid campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, drew angry reactions from AAP. The party said Kejriwal “will continue as the chief minister of Delhi. If need be, he will run the government from jail”.
Various constituents of the INDIA bloc condemned Kejriwal's arrest and claimed that the BJP is scared of the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and acting out of panic to create problems for the opposition.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also strongly criticised the arrest of her Delhi counterpart, labeling it a calculated assault on opposition chief ministers while tainted leaders with connections to the BJP remained untouched.
Banerjee, the TMC supremo, announced that representatives of the 'INDIA' bloc would be meeting the Election Commission to voice their objection to the arrests of opposition leaders.
"I vehemently condemn the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, the sitting Chief Minister of Delhi elected by the people. I have personally reached out to Smt Sunita Kejriwal to extend my unwavering support and solidarity," Banerjee posted on X.
She further denounced the selective targeting of elected opposition chief ministers while people facing investigations by the CBI and ED were permitted to continue their activities unchecked, particularly after aligning with the BJP.
"It's outrageous that while elected opposition CMs are being deliberately targeted and arrested, individuals accused under CBI/ED investigations are allowed to continue their malpractices with impunity, especially after aligning with the BJP. This is a blatant assault on democracy," she added.
