Manish Sisodia arrest: 9 Oppn leaders write to PM on 'misuse' of agencies

New Delhi: Nine opposition leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the arrest of Manish Sisodia, saying that it will be cited worldwide as an example of a political witch-hunt and further confirm what the world was only suspecting - India's democratic values stand threatened under an authoritarian BJP.

The letter is signed by nine leaders, including seven non-AAP leaders, but the Congress is missing from the list. The letter has signatures of Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, BRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, NCP's Sharad Pawar, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and former CM Uddhav Thackeray.

The letter said, "We hope you would agree that India is still a democratic country. The blatant misuse of central agencies against the members of the opposition appears to suggest that we have transitioned from being a democracy to an autocracy."

It said, "The 26th of February 2023, after a long witch-hunt, Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with alleged irregularity without a shred of evidence against him."

The letter said 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.

"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.

"Former Congress member and current Assam chief minister (CM) Shri 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 Shri Suvendu Adhikari and Shri 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."