Kejriwal Arrested, Critics Say Opposition Targeted

NEW DELHI (IANS, Reuters) – Even as the issue of electoral bonds simmers and inquiries into it are getting a pushback from the BJP which is reported to have gained crores through the scheme, dozens of members of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party were detained in New Delhi and elsewhere on March 22  after the arrest of its leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The ED, which arrested him after questioning him for two hours at his official residence, had sought 10 days custody, terming him the kingpin and the key conspirator of the alleged excise scam in collusion with other ministers of the Delhi government, AAP leaders, and other persons.

Now demands are being made by the Punjab state opposition BJP chief Sunil Jakhar to unearth the role of the ‘henchmen’ appointed by Kejriwal, including AAP Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha, where the party is in power.

Charges of corruption, critics say, have been leveled and acted upon only on opposition leaders: K. Kavitha, in Telangana and the daughter of the state’s previous chief minister KCR, is also being investigated on allegations of money laundering in connection with the investigation into the Delhi liquor policy and was arrested by the ED earlier. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi were both questioned in 2022 by the ED, the financial crime agency which is investigating allegations of money laundering against the Gandhi family. Abhishek Banerjee, of the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, has been named and summoned by the ED in several cases. P.Chidambaram a former Union Minister was jailed and later let go when no proof was found.