“BJP In Panic Over Growing Disenchantment Of People”: CPI(M) On Arvind Kejriwal’s Arrest

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) has issued a scathing condemnation of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), alleging vindictive targeting of opposition leaders by the Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In a statement released by the Polit Bureau of the CPI(M), the party strongly denounced Kejriwal’s arrest, attributing it to the BJP’s panic over public disillusionment with the government’s performance, revelations of its own corrupt practices, and disclosures of electoral bond details. The statement characterised the arrest as part of a pattern of vindictive targeting of opposition leaders in the lead-up to the forthcoming elections.

”Clearly, the Modi government and the BJP are in a panic over the growing disenchantment of the people with the Modi government’s performance, disclosures of its own corrupt practices and exposures of electoral bond details. Hence, they are vindictively targeting opposition leaders,” the statement said.

Kejriwal’s arrest marks the second instance of a Chief Minister belonging to the INDIA bloc being apprehended, according to the CPI(M), which criticized the preferential treatment accorded to defectors who join the BJP while opposition leaders face legal action.

The CPI(M) called upon all its units to participate in united protest actions in Delhi and across the country in response to Kejriwal’s arrest, signaling solidarity with opposition parties in their efforts to defend democracy and uphold the Indian Constitution.

Meanwhile, in a development related to Kejriwal’s legal proceedings, the Delhi Chief Minister withdrew his plea from the Supreme Court challenging his arrest by the ED. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, informed the apex court of the withdrawal, citing conflicts with the ongoing remand proceedings. The Supreme Court Special Bench, scheduled to hear the plea, was set to convene on the same day. Kejriwal’s arrest by the probe agency stemmed from a money laundering case linked to the excise policy, with the AAP leader having previously ignored nine summons issued by the ED.