Corrupt BJP leaders let free: Opposition leaders to PM Modi
At least nine opposition leaders have written to PM Narendra Modi alleging misuse of central agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against opposition leaders. They also alleged that no action had been taken against corrupt politicians who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The letter was signed by nine opposition leaders, including chief ministers of various states.
Why does this story matter?
The development comes amid a political row over the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia in a case related to the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy case. Sisodia is the latest in a long list of opposition leaders arrested by a central agency. The opposition called these arrests a "ploy" by the BJP to "harass" rivals. However, the BJP disputed the charges.
Most politicians booked since 2014 belonged to opposition: Letter
Leaders who signed the letter include Telangana CM-Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference's (JKNC) Farooq Abdullah, West Bengal CM-Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. They claimed that since 2014, the majority of lawmakers booked, arrested, and raided by investigating agencies belonged to the opposition.
Letter mentions inaction in cases involving BJP leaders
The letter also claimed that the agencies' probe against opposition politicians who joined the BJP slowed once they joined the saffron party. It alluded to the 2014 case against former Congress member and current Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Similarly, the letter cited CBI and ED cases against former TMC leaders Suvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy and Maharashtra's Narayan Rane.
Check out the full letter here
Role of governors in non-BJP states also questioned
The leaders also alleged the governors in non-BJP states across the country were acting in violation of the constitutional provisions and hindering state governance. "They are wilfully undermining democratically elected state governments and choosing instead to obstruct governance as per their whims and fancies," they wrote. Governors have become the face of the widening rift between the Centre and non-BJP state governments, they claimed.
Opposition leaders write letters to save Manish Sisodia: BJP leader
Political row over Manish Sisodia's arrest
The development comes only days after Sisodia's arrest sparked a new political spat with the BJP. On Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is also a signatory to the letter, criticized the BJP for arresting Sisodia at a rally in poll-bound Karnataka. He questioned the timing of the arrest and the authorities' inactivity against BJP leaders, despite their involvement in corrupt acts.
