Lowering level of politics in such manner neither suits PM, nor his govt: Congress on Kejriwal’s arrest

PTI, Mar 22, 2024, 8:59 AM IST

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New Delhi: Soon after the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said targeting the AAP leader during elections is wrong and unconstitutional, and lowering the level of politics in such a manner neither suits the prime minister nor the BJP-led Centre.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Kejriwal from his residence here on Thursday evening, officials said, shortly after the high court refused to grant the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader protection from coercive action in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case.

”Targeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in this manner during elections is completely wrong and unconstitutional. Lowering the level of politics in this manner suits neither the prime minister nor his government.

”Fight your critics in the electoral battle, confront them boldly and of course, attack their policies and working style — this is democracy. But in this way, using the power of all the institutions of the country to fulfil one’s political objective and weakening those by exerting pressure is against every principle of democracy,” Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

She said the bank accounts of the country’s largest opposition party, Congress, have been frozen, all political parties and ”their leaders are under pressure day and night from the ED, CBI, I-T, one chief minister has been put in jail and now, preparations are on to take another chief minister also to jail”.

”Such a shameful scene is being seen for the first time in the independent history of India,” the Congress leader alleged.

The AAP has alleged a ”huge conspiracy” behind Kejriwal’s arrest ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and accused the BJP of stooping to any level to make him bow down.