A delegation, comprising a number of leaders of the INDIA bloc on Friday met the Election Fee of India (ECI) to register their protest in opposition to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate and the alleged targetting of opposition leaders forward of the Lok Sabha elections.
In the course of the assembly, INDIA bloc leaders submitted a memorandum to the ballot panel which featured an inventory of latest situations of central businesses focusing on opposition events and alleged an absence of a “level playing field” for the opposition.
In a memorandum submitted to the ballot panel, INDIA bloc events alleged “unrelenting, blatant and illegal deployment of central agencies” by the ruling BJP to stifle the opposition events.
Opposition leaders shared an inventory of ten incidents of circumstances and raids in opposition to opposition leaders by central businesses since January this 12 months. The situations included CBI registering an FIR in opposition to TMC’s Mahua Moitra, raids and arrest of leaders of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which isn’t part of the INDIA bloc, raids in opposition to and arrest of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Yadav’s aide, arrest of Hemant Soren, and freezing of Congress’s accounts amongst different incidents.
“Therefore, there emerges a clear, deliberate and sinister pattern, where the ruling regime is abusing its power, and completely destroying any semblance of a level playing field for other political parties contesting the Lok Sabha elections,” the Opposition stated within the memorandum.
“Never before has such high-handedness ever been witnessed. It is our submission that free and fair elections are not possible in an atmosphere of threats, intimidation and extortion (as seen from the electoral bonds issue being adjudicated before the Supreme Court). The Hon’ble Commission must act and take drastic steps to halt this brazen misuse of the official machinery,” it added.
HIGHLIGHTS OF MEMORANDUM
- First time a sitting Chief Minister (Arvind Kejriwal) arrested
- JMM working president (Hemant Soren) arrested
- Congress’s financial institution accounts frozen
- A number of examples of Trinamool Congress leaders being focused
- Bengal Director Normal of Police modified thrice in 24 hours
Talking to reporters after the assembly, Congress chief Abhishek Manu Singhvi stated, “We pointed out this is not a normal complaint, it is a larger issue of effecting, impairing, undermining, and sabotaging the basic structure of the Indian Constitution”.
“We pointed out that the level playing field is the heart and soul of free and fair elections. And free and fair elections are the heart and soul of democracy itself. Democracy has been held repeatedly by the Supreme Court to be part of basic structure,” he added.
In addition to Singhvi, Congress chief KC Venugopal, TMC’s Derek O’brien and Nadimul Haque, CPI(M) Normal Secretary Sitaram Yechury, AAP leaders Sandeep Pathak and Pankaj Gupta, Jitendra Awhad from Sharad Pawar faction, DMK’s P Wilson and Javed Ali of the SP had been a part of the delegation.
Whereas the JMM, RJD and Shiv Sena (UBT) couldn’t ship any representatives, the opposition leaders stated all events supported the memorandum.
