India: Opposition condemns Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest as ‘Decay of Democracy’

• Opposition leaders accuse Kejriwal’s arrest of political motivation.
• The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by  Narendra Modi, denies the allegations and claims it is merely taking action against corruption.
• Kejriwal’s arrest is seen as a blow to the opposition, especially just weeks before India’s general elections.

The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has drawn strong condemnation from Indian opposition leaders across political parties. Authorities arrested Mr. Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on Thursday in connection with corruption allegations regarding the city’s policies over alcohol sales.

Mr. Kejriwal, who has denied any wrongdoing, is scheduled to be produced in court on Friday. Opposition leaders have alleged that his arrest is politically motivated.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has denied the allegation and asserts that it is merely taking action against corruption. Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest by a financial crimes agency delivers a blow to the opposition just weeks before India’s general elections. The AAP, part of the 27-party INDIA alliance aiming to challenge the BJP, faces this setback.

On Thursday evening, Rahul Gandhi of the main opposition Congress party wrote on X, formerly Twitter, alluding to Mr. Modi: “A scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy.”

“The arrest of elected Chief Ministers has become a common thing,” Mr Gandhi wrote.

Sharad Pawar, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), stated that Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest showcases the “depth to which BJP will stoop for power”.

Akhilesh Yadav, chief of the Samajwadi Party, remarked that Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest would “give birth to a new people’s revolution”.

“BJP knows that it will not come to power again, due to this fear, it wants to remove the opposition leaders from the public by any means at the time of elections, arrest is just an excuse,” he posted on X.

Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala, characterized Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest as “outright vicious and part of a callous plot to silence all opposition voices just ahead of the general elections”.

M K Stalin, his counterpart in Tamil Nadu, criticized: “Not a single BJP leader faces scrutiny or arrest, laying bare their abuse of power and the decay of democracy.”