The chief minister of the state of Delhi, and one of the most important figures in the opposition to the government of Narendra Modi, was arrested on the evening of Thursday March 21 by a federal police agency. Arvind Kejriwal is accused of corruption and extortion. The latter denies these charges.
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In Indiahe is the third elected official from his party arrested in recent months by these agencies, and less than a month of the first round of legislative elections. His supporters accuse the government of trying to decapitate all opposition. The very powerful federal economic crimes agency had been seeking to question Arvind Kejriwal for months. And it was finally in the middle of the night, around 9 p.m., that the agents found him in his residence, and placed him in pre-trial detention. The Supreme Court said it would hear a plea on Friday challenging the legality of the arrest by his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawyers.
Arvind Kejriwal is accused of being involved in the alleged embezzlement of more than 11 million euros, raised from alcohol sellers to finance his campaign. The Arvind Kejriwal government introduced a controversial policy to liberalize the sale of alcohol in Delhi in 2021, inviting private players to open shops and ending the state monopoly.
This liberalization policy was halted in 2022 and the ensuing investigation into alleged corruption in licensing has already resulted in the imprisonment of two senior members of Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP, including his deputy and former number 2 in government. But the group denies having committed these crimes, and denounces a political vendetta, aimed at decapitating what represents one of the main opposition forces to the government of Narendra Modi.
An arrest described as “ political conspiracy »
Protests are currently taking place in the heart of New Delhi to denounce this major arrest, and other opposition parties, such as the Congress, have given their support to Arvind Kejriwal. Police were present in force outside the headquarters of Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in New Delhi where barricades were set up in anticipation of demonstrations called by the AAP against the arrest of its leader.
“ We hope the Supreme Court will protect democracy Delhi State Education Minister Atishi Marlena Singh told reporters. “ We have been clear from the start: if necessary, Arvind Kejriwal will lead the government from prison “, she declared Thursday evening when announcing her arrest described as “ political conspiracy » orchestrated by the BJP.
According to the chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu (southeast), MK Stalin, a member of the opposition bloc, the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal “ looks like a witch hunt desperate “. “ Not a single BJP leader faces scrutiny or arrest, a testament to its abuse of power and decline of democracy “, he added.
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An opposition coalition ahead of the vote
Narendra Modi’s political opponents and international rights groups have long sounded the alarm about shrinking democratic space in India. The American democracy think tank Freedom House estimated this year that the BJP had “ increasingly used government institutions to target his political opponents “.
This arrest comes less than a month before the start of the legislative elections. The AAP, Congress and several other parties have formed an opposition coalition ahead of the polls which will take place between April and June. Few expect the bloc to make a breakthrough against Narendra Modiwho remains very popular a decade after taking office
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