A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, a delegation of leaders of the INDIA bloc parties approached the Election Commission of India alleging "unrelenting, blatant and illegal deployment of Central Agencies" by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to stifle the Opposition parties.
In a memorandum submitted to the EC, the INDIA party leaders submitted a list of recent instances of central agencies targeting Opposition parties and alleged an absence of a level playing field for the opposition.
The leaders also suggested that the poll panel should change the heads of the probe agencies during the election to ensure a fair play.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "We pointed out this is not a normal complaint, it is a larger issue of effecting, impairing, undermining, and sabotaging the basic structure of the Indian constitution.
"We pointed out that the level playing field is the heart and soul of free and fair elections. And free and fair elections are the heart and soul of democracy itself. Democracy has been held repeatedly by the Supreme Court to be part of basic structure."
He added, "The moment you skew, render the level playing field in a non level playing field, what do you do? You are actually affecting democracy and therefore the basic structure. How do you do it, you use and misuse agencies blatantly."
Singhvi said cases which are 20 years old have been resurrected to target the opposition.
"...if you had to take action, I am assuming for a minute action is justified... why can't the action be deferred to June-July, what is the need to arrest him today? What is the need to raid him tomorrow? Right in the middle of the election. It is because you want to win by unfair means before the first vote is cast," he alleged, referring to the arrest of Kejriwal.
He said in 75 years of India history, no party of whatever colour, including BJP, ever thought of arresting a sitting chief minister.
"Every party of this political structure standing here has been harassed, raided and arrested, why? All virtues are in this pocket, all the vices on this side? Or are you blind?" he said.
"Not a single person of the ruling party is affected, how is this level playing field? We asked this question to the mega custodian of our democracy, the Election Commission. We told them that you have constitutional power, if you can appoint heads of police, change home secretaries, why can't you control appointments to ED, CBI, and the IT during at least the period of the MCC," Singhvi added.
Besides Singhvi, Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Trinamool Congress' Derek O'brien and Nadimul Haque, Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Aam Aadmi Party leaders Sandeep Pathak and Pankaj Gupta, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar leader Jitendra Awhad, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's P Wilson and Javed Ali of the Samajwadi Party were part of the delegation.
While the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray could not send any representatives, the Opposition leaders said all parties supported the memorandum.
Singhvi said the delegation was activated late last night following Kejriwal's arrest.
"...Some got information around 11-12 in the night. Many made an effort to fly here, like Mr O'Brien, he was not in Delhi. One or two could not come but they have given full political support. Every possible political colour from the opposition is here at a short notice," he said.
This was TMC's first appearance with the INDIA bloc parties since the seat-sharing talks in West Bengal with Congress failed, and it announced going solo in polls.
The Opposition leaders shared a list ten incidents of cases and raids against opposition leaders by central agencies since January this year.
The instances included CBI registering an FIR against TMC's Mahua Moitra, raids and arrest of leaders of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, which is not a part of the INDIA bloc, raids against and arrest of former Bihar CM Lalu Yadav's aide, arrest of Hemant Soren, and freezing of Congress's accounts among other incidents.
"Therefore there emerges a clear, deliberate and sinister pattern, where the ruling regime is abusing its power, and completely destroying any semblance of a level playing field for other political parties contesting the Lok Sabha elections.
"Never before has such high-handedness ever been witnessed," the Opposition said in the memorandum.
"It is our submission that free and fair elections are not possible in an atmosphere of threats, intimidation and extortion (as seen from the electoral bonds issue being adjudicated before the Supreme Court). The Hon'ble Commission must act and take drastic steps to halt this brazen misuse of the official machinery," it read.
"This electoral process will have lost all sanctity if the Hon'ble Commission is unable to ensure a level playing field," they said in the letter.
Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday night in an excise policy-linked money laundering case in Delhi.
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