Congress not among signatories of letter
After former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s arrest in the excise policy case, nine leaders of eight political parties on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing his Government of misusing the office of Governor and Central agencies to target the Opposition parties and their leaders.
However, no Congress leader was among the signatories. According to sources, the letter was written at the behest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. The letter said that India has “transitioned from being a democracy to an autocracy.”
Apart from Kejriwal, the other signatories of the letter were Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Rao of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), National Conference (NC) leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Apart from the Congress, the JDS, the JD(U), and the CPM did not sign the letter. This highlights divisions in the Opposition camp. The letter seems to be a signal of the alliance of political parties for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Remarking on the role of the Governors, the Opposition leaders alleged that their offices in the country are “frequently hindering the governance of the State” they are sent to.
Pointing at Assam Chief Minister Hemant Biswa Sarma and other BJP leaders Mukul Roy, Narayan Rane and Suvendu Adhikari, the Opposition leaders said that the probe against the corrupt politicians who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been delayed.
The leaders alleged that the timings of the lodging of cases against and arrests of the Opposition leaders “coincided with elections” which makes it clear that the action taken was “politically-motivated”.
“The blatant misuse of central agencies against the members of the Opposition appears to suggest that we have transitioned from being a democracy to an autocracy,” the letter said.
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“The misuse of central agencies and constitutional offices like that of the Governor… is strongly condemnable as it does not bode well for our democracy,” the letter continued. Highlighting Sisodia’s arrest by the CBI in connection with the alleged irregularities in Delhi Liquor Policy, the leaders of nine parties said the charges against the AAP leader were “outrightly baseless and smack of a political conspiracy”.
They claimed that Sisodia’s arrest has “enraged” people across the country and alleged that his arrest will “confirm what the world was only suspecting” that India’s democratic values were “threatened” under BJP rule. “Manish Sisodia is recognised globally for transforming Delhi’s school education,” the letter said.
“Out of the total number of key politicians booked, arrested, raided, or interrogated by the investigation agencies under your administration since 2014, the maximum belongs to the opposition. Interestingly, investigation agencies go slow on cases against Opposition politicians who join the BJP,” the letter said.
Photo ANI
