Soon after Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday night from his Civil Lines residence in connection with an excise policy case, INDIA bloc leaders wasted no time in slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and strongly condemning the ED over the sitting CM’s arrest.

Notable figures like Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury unitedly opposed the arrest, alleging an attempt to “undermine democracy”. Despite the INDIA bloc being at a crossroads during seat-sharing discussions, Kejriwal’s arrest appears to have unified the alliance. Notably, this is the first time that a sitting CM has been arrested and is likely to govern from inside the jail.

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Rahul Gandhi reacted to Kejriwal’s arrest with an apparent criticism directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi described the arrest as an endeavour by “a scared dictator” aiming to “erode democracy.”

“…While capturing all the institutions including the media, breaking up the parties, extorting money from companies, freezing the account of the main opposition party was not enough for the ‘devilish power’, now the arrest of the elected Chief Ministers has also become a common thing,” Rahul said in a post on X. “INDIA will give a befitting reply to this,” he claimed.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) also rebuked the arrest, labelling it “unlawful” and accusing the ED and CBI of becoming the “chief instruments of repression” under BJP’s control. BRS working president K T Rama Rao accused the saffron party of targeting political opponents on unsubstantiated grounds, with political vendetta as their sole purpose.

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Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury slammed the arrest, describing it as the second instance where the ruling dispensation has arrested a sitting chief minister. “It’s the second sitting CM of the INDIA bloc to be arrested. Clearly, Modi and the BJP are in panic over people’s rejection in the ongoing elections.” he wrote on X.

On the other hand, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, a significant leader of the INDIA alliance, stated that the arrest was motivated by the BJP’s “fear of a decade of failures and the imminent defeat” in the upcoming general elections.

He criticised the BJP government, saying, “…the Fascist BJP Govt sinks to despicable depths by arresting Hon’ble Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal, following the unjust targeting of brother @HemantSorenJMM.” He also labelled the arrest of opposition leaders as a “witch-hunt.”

Similarly, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) questioned the fate of democracy if opposition leaders and elected chief ministers were arrested before elections. TMC Rajya Sabha party leader Derek O’Brien expressed concern about the harassment and arrest of political leaders during the election process, pointing to the need to protect democracy.

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Opposition stalwart Sharad Pawar remarked that the arrest revealed the depths to which the BJP would descend for power. He stated that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) stands united against this unconstitutional action against Arvind Kejriwal with NCP leader Supriya Sule terming the arrest as politically motivated.

Former Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, resounding the message by other leaders of the INDIA alliance, condemned the BJP’s actions. He argued that those who fear defeat have no justification for imprisoning others. Yadav suggested that the BJP, aware of its dwindling electoral prospects, aims to sideline opposition leaders during elections by resorting to any means available, with the arrest serving as a pretext. He predicted that this arrest would ignite a new people’s revolution.

After receiving at least nine summons, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal was arrested following the Delhi High Court’s rejection of protection from coercive action by authorities in the case. A team of Enforcement Directorate officials reached Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Civil Lines residence to interrogate him, subsequently arresting him late at night on March 21 in connection with the now-defunct Delhi excise policy scam.