Opposition writes to PM; claim BJP using Central agencies to target leaders

Hyderabad: Major Opposition parties of India have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the blatant misuse of Central agencies against Opposition leaders.

On 5 March, leaders of major Opposition parties, including K. Chandrashekhar Rao (BRS), Mamata Banerjee (AITC), Bhagwant Mann (AAP), Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), Farooq Abdullah (JKNC), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Akhilesh Yadav (SP), Sharad Pawar (NCP), and Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena UBT) wrote to PM Modi.

In the letter, the Opposition said the blatant misuse of Central agencies against Opposition leaders appears to suggest that India has transitioned from being a democracy to an autocracy.

Highlighting the arrest of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the letter said, “We hope you would agree that India is still a democratic country. On February 26, 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 allegations against Sisodia are outrightly baseless and smack of a political conspiracy. His arrest has enraged people across the country.”

The leaders said Mr. Sisodia is recognised globally for transforming Delhi’s school education and 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.

Cases against leaders slow down after joining BJP

The leaders said that out of the total number of key politicians booked, arrested, raided, or interrogated by the investigation agencies under BJP administration since 2014, the maximum belongs to the Opposition.

Citing examples, the leaders said 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 Narayan Rane of Maharashtra. Since 2014, there has been a marked rise in the number of raids conducted, cases lodged against and arrest of the Opposition leaders. Be it Lalu Prasad Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena), Azam Khan (Samajwadi Party), Nawab Malik, Anil Deshmukh (NCP), Abhishek Banerjee (TMC), Central agencies have often sparked suspicion that they were working as extended wings of the ruling dispensation at the Centre,” the letter read.

“In many such cases, the timings of the cases lodged or arrests made have coincided with elections making it abundantly clear that they were politically motivated. 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,” the leaders added.

Priorities misplaced

According to the leaders, the list of the agencies the BJP-led Central government has been accused of using against the Opposition isn’t limited to the Enforcement Directorate. “It is clear that these agencies have their priorities misplaced. Following the publication of an international forensic financial research report, SBI and LIC have reportedly lost over Rs. 78,000 crores in market capitalisation of their shares due to exposure to a certain firm. Why have the Central agencies not been pressed into service to investigate the firm’s financial irregularities despite the public money at stake?” they questioned.

Role of Governors

Further, they also brought to the fore the role of Governors in the country, which they alleged is being questioned by the people of the country. “The offices of the Governors across the country are acting in violation of the constitutional provisions and frequently hindering the governance of the state. They are wilfully undermining democratically-elected state governments and choosing instead to obstruct governance as per their whims and fancies,” the leaders said referring to the Governors of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Punjab, Telangana and the Lt. Governor of Delhi.

“In a democracy, the will of the people is supreme. The mandate given by the people should be respected even if it was in favour of a party whose ideology was contrary to yours,” the letter concluded.