The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) dramatic arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal late on March 21 has galvanised the ruling front and the Opposition in Kerala into taking to the streets on March 22 (Friday) morning in protest against what the rival fronts view as “an egregious and unprecedented attack on Indian democracy and federalism.”
Also read: Arvind Kejriwal arrest live updates
The leaders of the rival alliances also portrayed Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest ahead of the Lok Sabha elections as “an ominous, dead-of-the-night knock on democracy’s door” that portended badly for the country’s polity.
CPI(M) burns PM in effigy
In Kannur, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] activists burned Prime Minister Narendra Modi in effigy.
CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan, who led the protesters, said Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest “foretold a backsliding into the dark days of the Emergency.”
Aam Aadmi Party activists stage a protest near Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on March 22, 2024 against the arrest of their leader Arvind Kejriwal. | Photo Credit: S. Mahinsha
Mr. Govindan noted that the country’s electorate would brush aside “the dark clouds of authoritarianism” threatening democracy. “Mr. Kejriwal will emerge stronger from the prison,” he said.
Tharoor leads Congress Raj Bhavan march
In Thiruvananthapuram, Congress Working Committee member and the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Thiruvananthapuram constituency, Shashi Tharoor, MP, led a protest march to Raj Bhavan to spotlight the “attack on democracy”.
He said the rival fronts in Kerala were “united in their opposition” to the BJP’s brazen attempt to use Constitutional agencies to tilt the electoral field in favour of the Sangh Parivar-controlled Central government by arresting leaders and squeezing Opposition parties’ campaign finances.
Mr. Tharoor said the I-T department and the ED had frozen the Congress’s election treasure chest “at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s instance.”
He pointed out that the ED had arrested Mr. Kejriwal when the model code of conduct was in force. Mr. Tharoor said he had appealed to the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of “the assault on democracy.”
Stifling dissent: Sudhakaran
In Kannur, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran accused the BJP of “subverting” the ED, CBI and I-T department to “target political rivals and stifle dissent” by arresting Mr. Kejriwal.
However, Mr. Sudhakaran appeared to put a rider to the statement. He queried why the ED had taken no similar action against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan despite certain serious charges against the latter. Mr. Sudhakaran said the CPI(M) and the BJP “are political bedfellows in Kerala.”
BJP’s take on Kejriwal’s arrest
In Thiruvananthapuram, BJP State president K. Surendran asked whether the Congress would cry foul if the ED arrested Mr. Vijayan.
He said the Chief Minister and his family were facing serious corruption charges. “The Congress has highlighted the accusations at the hustings. However, the Central government’s anti-corruption drive has corralled the corrupt Congress and CPI(M) in a single enclosure,” he said.
Mr. Surendran alleged that the Congress had aided Mr. Vijayan in evading discomfiting questions about graft in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. “However, outside the Assembly, the Congress has been hankering for Central investigations against Mr. Vijayan and his family,” he said.
Mr. Surendran claimed that the INDIA bloc allies were “imaginary foes” in Kerala. He said the BJP was the only bonafide Opposition in the State.
“The people will jump on the Modi development and welfare bandwagon to end Congress-CPI(M) revolving door politics in the State,” he said.
(with inputs from Kannur Bureau)
