iNDICA NEWS BUREAU–
Nationalist Congress Party – Sharachandra Pawar (NCP-SP) President Sharad Pawar on Friday condemned the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and said the Aam Aadmi Party will sweep the Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to the media, Sharad Pawar reiterated how the Central investigation agencies were being used against Opposition political parties and their leaders, and flayed the nabbing of CM Kejriwal late Thursday evening.
He pointed out that when CM Kejriwal was harassed in a similar manner, he had made a clean sweep of the Delhi Assembly elections on two occasions (2015 and 2020), and predicted that even this time the AAP will get the sympathy votes in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.
To a query, Pawar, 83, categorically stated that he will not contest the upcoming parliamentary elections, as speculated in some quarters. On the question of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) likely to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA, Pawar said it may contest a couple of seats which won’t make much difference.
Pawar’s comments came this morning after CM Kejriwal’s arrest in an alleged excise scam case sent shockwaves in the Opposition circles across India and evoked strong criticism.
After the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav slammed BJP for misusing investigating agencies and Constitutional bodies to win Lok Sabha election 2024. “Instead of contesting the election in a democratic manner, BJP is trying to fight the contest with the help of investigating and Constitutional agencies of the country,” Tejashwi Yadav said in a post on his official X handle.
“They have imposed an undeclared emergency in the country and are killing democratic values. We are strongly standing with the people of Delhi,” he said.
RJD national President Lalu Prasad Yadav also posted on his official account on X: “The Central government is afraid of losing the battle of Lok Sabha 2024 and hence, killing democracy of the country. BJP was killing democratic values in the past and its leaders will do the same in future.”
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by a team of Enforcement Directorate from his residence in the capital on Thursday night. He is allegedly facing charges in the liquor scam. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has condemned the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Director (ED) in the alleged excise policy scam on Thursday.
Stating that he strongly condemns the ‘unlawful’ arrest of Kejriwal, BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao posted on X, “The ED and the CBI have become the chief instruments of repression in the hands of the BJP. Political opponents are targeted on unsubstantiated grounds & political vendetta is their sole purpose.”
KTR’s sister and BRS MLC K. Kavitha was arrested by the ED in the same case on March 15.
