National Desk
2 July
Sandeep Dhand Ludhiana
Parliamentarians of the All-India Alliance staged a protest in the Parliament complex today, accusing the central government of misusing investigative agencies to ‘target’ opposition leaders. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, along with many leaders from the India alliance, including those from the TMC and AAP, protested on the steps leading to Makar Dwar of Parliament House.
Holding placards that read slogans such as ‘Dictatorship-Hitlershahi will not last,’ ‘Release Kejriwal,’ ‘Stop misuse of ED and CBI,’ ‘Silence the opposition, stop misuse of agencies,’ and ‘Go to BJP, get a license to corruption,’ the opposition MPs made their stance clear. AAP MP Raghav Chadha was also seen holding a poster depicting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal behind bars.
The protest comes shortly after a Delhi court sent Kejriwal to judicial custody until July 12 in a case related to the alleged excise scam. The CBI formally arrested him last week following his earlier arrest by the ED in a money laundering case. Though the trial court recently granted him bail, it was stayed by the Delhi High Court. In addition, the Jharkhand High Court granted Hemant Soren bail on Friday in a money laundering case.
Congress leader Rajeev Shukla stated, “The All India Alliance is united against the misuse of central agencies against opposition leaders.” AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh accused the BJP-led central government of imprisoning Kejriwal by misusing the ED and CBI. Singh claimed that investigation agencies are being misused against leaders of opposition parties, including Congress and AAP. He highlighted that the lower court’s order mentioned no evidence against Kejriwal, yet he remains incarcerated.
The opposition MPs also demanded the release of three ministers arrested in West Bengal and an end to the ED abuses against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The protest underscored the opposition’s resolve to challenge what they see as an authoritarian misuse of power by the central government.