A group of eight opposition leaders have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that the government is misusing central agencies like Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to frame their leaders.
Pointing at Assam Chief Minister Hemant Biswa Sarma, the Opposition leaders said that corrupt politicians who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) face delayed probe.
The letter also accused state governors of interfering in working of the elected governments.
“Be it the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Punjab. Telangana or the Lt Governor of Delhi – the Governors have become the face of the widening rift between the Centre and states run by the non-BJP governments and threaten the spirit of cooperative federalism, which the states continue to nurture in spite of a lack of expression by the Centre. As a result, the people of our country have now begun to question the role of the Governors in Indian democracy,” the letter said.
The signatories of the latter include Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Chandrashekhar Rao, National Conference president Farukh Abdullah, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (Faction) leader Uddhav Thackeray among others.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Maan questioned the credibility of the probe agencies.
Referring to the arrest of former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case, the Opposition leaders also stated that the action appears to suggest that “we have transitioned from being a democracy to an autocracy”.
“On the 26th of February 2023, after a long witch-hunt, Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Shri Manish Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with alleged irregularity without a shred of evidence against him. The allegations against Sisodia are outrightly baseless and smack of a political conspiracy. His arrest has enraged people across the country. Manish Sisodia is recognised globally for transforming Delhi’s school education. His arrest will be cited worldwide as an example of a political witch-hunt and further confirm what the world was only suspecting – that India’s democratic values stand threatened under an authoritarian BJP regime,” the letter read.
The Opposition leaders also stated, “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. For example, former Congress member and current Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was probed by the CBI and the ED in 2014 and 2015 over the Saradha chit fund scam. However, the case didn’t progress after he joined the BJP. Similarly, former TMC leaders Suvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy were under the ED and CBI scanner in the Narada sting operation case but the cases didn’t progress after they joined the BJP ahead of the assembly polls in the state. There are many such examples, including that of Shri Narayan Rane of Maharashtra.”
There were no representations from Congress, JDS, JD (U), and CPI (M) in the letter.
Pointing out the arrests of Opposition leaders including Lalu Prasad Yadav, Azam Khan, and others, the leaders wrote that the central agencies were working as “extended wings” of the BJP.
“The manner in which prominent members of the opposition have been targeted lends credence to the allegation that your government is using investigating agencies to target or eliminate the opposition,” they alleged.
