PIYUSH NAGPAL
Tue, March 26, 2024
Members of Aam Admi Party, or Common Man's Party, shout slogans as they are detained by police during a protest against the arrest of their party leader Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Indian police have detained dozens of opposition protesters and prevented them from marching to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence to demand the release of their leader and top elected official of New Delhi who was arrested last week in a liquor bribery case.
(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police detained dozens of opposition protesters Tuesday to stop them from marching to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence to demand the release of their leader and top elected official of New Delhi arrested last week in a bribery case.
Nearly 300 supporters of Arvind Kejriwal gathered at India’s Parliament House to begin their march. Policemen, some in riot gear, surrounded the protesters and detained some.
“Long Live Kejriwal” protesters chanted while being dragged and bundled into buses and driven away by the police. They are likely to be released later in the day.
“This is a dictatorship. If someone is doing good for the public of Delhi, why arrest such a person?” Rubina Parveen, a protester, told The Associated Press. "Our voices are muzzled. The public is very angry ... If a good leader is sent to jail, then what will happen to the common public? she said.
Authorities have since banned the assembly of four or more people in the area that houses almost all key government buildings.
Kejriwal, one of the country’s most consequential politicians of the past decade and a top rival of Modi's, was arrested on March 21. He and his Aaam Admi Party, or Common Man’s Party, are accused of accepting 1 billion rupees ($12 million) in bribes from liquor contractors nearly two years ago.
The party denied the accusations, saying they are fabricated by the federal agency, controlled by Modi’s government.
Kejriwal’s AAP is part of a broad alliance of opposition parties called INDIA, the main challenger to Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the coming election.
Hundreds of Kejriwal’s supporters have been holding protests since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, the federal agency that probes economic offenses.
Kejriwal was taken into custody for seven days following a court order on Friday. His party said he would remain Delhi’s chief minister as it takes the case to court.
The federal agency accused Kejriwal of being the “kingpin and key conspirator” in the liquor bribery case. Kejriwal has refuted the allegations and accused the directorate of “manipulating investigative agencies for political motives”.
In the lead-up to the general election , starting April 19, India’s opposition parties have accused the government of misusing its power to harass and weaken its political opponents, pointing to a spree of raids, arrests and corruption investigations against key opposition figures.
Meanwhile, some probes against former opposition leaders who later defected to Modi’s BJP have been dropped.
BJP denies targeting the opposition and says law enforcement agencies act independently.
Arvind Kejriwal: Delhi chief minister remanded to custody in corruption case
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police detained dozens of opposition protesters Tuesday to stop them from marching to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence to demand the release of their leader and top elected official of New Delhi arrested last week in a bribery case.
Nearly 300 supporters of Arvind Kejriwal gathered at India’s Parliament House to begin their march. Policemen, some in riot gear, surrounded the protesters and detained some.
“Long Live Kejriwal” protesters chanted while being dragged and bundled into buses and driven away by the police. They are likely to be released later in the day.
“This is a dictatorship. If someone is doing good for the public of Delhi, why arrest such a person?” Rubina Parveen, a protester, told The Associated Press. "Our voices are muzzled. The public is very angry ... If a good leader is sent to jail, then what will happen to the common public? she said.
Authorities have since banned the assembly of four or more people in the area that houses almost all key government buildings.
Kejriwal, one of the country’s most consequential politicians of the past decade and a top rival of Modi's, was arrested on March 21. He and his Aaam Admi Party, or Common Man’s Party, are accused of accepting 1 billion rupees ($12 million) in bribes from liquor contractors nearly two years ago.
The party denied the accusations, saying they are fabricated by the federal agency, controlled by Modi’s government.
Kejriwal’s AAP is part of a broad alliance of opposition parties called INDIA, the main challenger to Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the coming election.
Hundreds of Kejriwal’s supporters have been holding protests since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, the federal agency that probes economic offenses.
Kejriwal was taken into custody for seven days following a court order on Friday. His party said he would remain Delhi’s chief minister as it takes the case to court.
The federal agency accused Kejriwal of being the “kingpin and key conspirator” in the liquor bribery case. Kejriwal has refuted the allegations and accused the directorate of “manipulating investigative agencies for political motives”.
In the lead-up to the general election , starting April 19, India’s opposition parties have accused the government of misusing its power to harass and weaken its political opponents, pointing to a spree of raids, arrests and corruption investigations against key opposition figures.
Meanwhile, some probes against former opposition leaders who later defected to Modi’s BJP have been dropped.
BJP denies targeting the opposition and says law enforcement agencies act independently.
Arvind Kejriwal: Delhi chief minister remanded to custody in corruption case
BBC
Mon, March 25, 2024
Mr Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, was arrested on Thursday in connection with city's policies over alcohol sales
A court has ordered the prominent Indian opposition politician and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal be remanded in custody following his arrest over corruption allegations.
Mr Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was detained on Thursday by India's financial crimes agency.
He has denied any wrongdoing and opposition leaders say his arrest is politically motivated.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has denied the allegation.
The party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the authorities are acting against corruption.
Mr Kejriwal was produced in a Delhi trial court on Friday and remanded in custody until 28 March.
After he was detained, his lawyer Shadan Farasat told news agency AFP: "We are considering our next course of action."
Meanwhile, dozens of AAP leaders have been detained in the capital and sporadic protests erupted elsewhere across India against Mr Kejriwal's arrest, weeks before general elections.
AAP leaders have said that they will continue their protests and will hold one outside the prime minister's residence.
"Kejriwal has been arrested to stop him from campaigning in the general elections," said AAP leader and Delhi finance minister Atishi, who uses only one name.
"This is a way to steal elections," she added in a statement.
Mr Kejriwal's arrest by a financial crimes agency comes as a blow to the opposition just weeks before India's general elections. AAP is part of the 27-party INDIA alliance aiming to challenge the BJP.
AAP members held protests in several cities across India
Alluding to Mr Modi, Rahul Gandhi of the main opposition Congress party wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "A scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy."
"The arrest of elected chief ministers has become a common thing," Mr Gandhi wrote.
Sharad Pawar, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), said that Mr Kejriwal's arrest showcases the "depth to which BJP will stoop for power".
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said Mr Kejriwal's arrest would "give birth to a new people's revolution".
"BJP knows that it will not come to power again, due to this fear, it wants to remove the opposition leaders from the public by any means at the time of elections, arrest is just an excuse," he posted on X.
Rahul Gandhi has called the arrest an attack on India's democratic principles
Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala, said Mr Kejriwal's arrest is "outright vicious and part of a callous plot to silence all opposition voices just ahead of the general elections".
His counterpart in Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin, said: "Not a single BJP leader faces scrutiny or arrest, laying bare their abuse of power and the decay of democracy."
"The relentless persecution of opposition leaders by the BJP government smacks of a desperate witch-hunt. This tyranny ignites public fury, unmasking BJP's true colours," Mr Stalin said.
In the past year or so, several opposition leaders have been imprisoned, questioned or had cases filed against them by federal agencies.
K Kavitha, leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), was arrested in the same case as Mr Kejriwal just days ago. She denies the allegations.
In January, Hemant Soren, former Jharkhand chief minister and leader of the opposition Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), was arrested by a federal tax agency on charges of money laundering and land-grabbing. Mr Soren denies the allegations.
Mr Gandhi himself was convicted of criminal libel last year after a complaint by a member of the BJP.
His two-year prison sentence saw him disqualified from parliament for a time until the verdict was suspended by a higher court in August last year.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren was arrested by the tax agency in January
On Thursday, the Congress party accused Mr Modi's government of using the tax department to starve them of finances ahead of elections.
Mr Kejriwal is the third AAP leader to be arrested over the alleged corruption case related to a now-scrapped liquor policy in Delhi.
The Enforcement Directorate also arrested Mr Kejriwal's deputy, Manish Sisodia, and AAP lawmaker
Delhi Boosts Security Near Modi Home as Police Detain Protesters
Swati Gupta
Tue, March 26, 2024
(Bloomberg) -- As India heads into an election, follow Bloomberg India's channel on WhatsApp for how money and business intersect with politics and power. Sign up here.
Police in Delhi increased security around Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence and detained protesters after an opposition group called for demonstrations outside his home Tuesday following the arrest of their leader last week.
Delhi police detained the demonstrators and removed them from a nearby protest site by making them board buses, according to video footage from Indian media outlets. The prime minister’s Bharatiya Janata Party held its own counter-protest with no police action taken against them, the footage showed.
The protests are a reaction to the federal anti-money laundering investigative agency arresting Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, on March 21 in relation to a bribery case. Kejriwal, who is also the chief minister of Delhi, appeared at a district court the next day and was remanded in custody.
His party said he hasn’t resigned his post as chief minister and will continue to conduct official business from jail. The BJP is demanding his resignation.
Kejriwal’s arrest, coming just weeks before India’s elections kick off on April 19, sparked a backlash from opposition groups accusing Modi’s government of using federal agencies to target them. The BJP has denied the allegations.
The Delhi traffic unit issued an advisory Tuesday of road restrictions and diversions near Modi’s home, making the location inaccessible.
“There is no permission for the protests and we have delegated required security,” Devesh Kumar Mahia, Delhi deputy police commissioner, told reporters. The police has 50 vehicles patrolling the city and protesters will be detained, he added.
The AAP, which governs the capital and the northern Indian state of Punjab, have also called for nationwide protests on March 31, which it said will draw members of the opposition alliance.
“There are protests everywhere on the streets of the country and in the coming days, it will pick up pace,” Gopal Rai, a Delhi cabinet minister, told reporters Sunday.
(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
No comments:
Post a Comment