Ranchi, Mar 22 (PTI) Kalpana Soren, wife of jailed former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, on Friday criticised the Centre over the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying the current state of affairs portrays governance as tantamount to dictatorship, with incidents of oppression seemingly prevalent across every part of the nation.
Kalpana, who joined active politics after her husband was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to alleged land scam, said, “Governance has become dictatorship. Every corner of the country has become a testimony of their atrocities.” In a post on ‘X’, Kalpana attacked the Centre and the BJP without naming them saying: “They think they will be reinstated to the throne by arresting leaders with a mass following of crores. The self-respecting and fearless people of the country will give a befitting reply to their delusion and arrogance. INDIA will not bow down.” Kejriwal, who is also the national convener and chief of AAP, was arrested on Thursday night by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
Kejriwal was on Friday produced before a court where the ED dubbed him a “key conspirator” in the liquor scam case and sought his 10-day custody.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Thursday had termed the arrest of Kejriwal as “end of democracy” in the country and hit out at the Centre for “scripting the arrest” in the same fashion as of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren over a month ago.
Launching a scathing attack on the Centre for “scripting the arrest”, JMM central committee spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharyya had said all those who were vocal and the entire opposition will meet the same fate.
He demanded that the election notification be cancelled as “it is the end of democracy in India and there is no need for elections now.” “No opposition will be allowed in the country and days are not far off when the headquarters of all opposition parties would be surrounded by central forces,” Bhattacharyya said.
“Political vendetta is unprecedented….The Election Commission of India and the President of India should take a call on whether democratic process should continue in India or not,” Bhattacharyya said.
He said Soren was arrested in the same fashion as Kejriwal without giving time to seek legal help.
Soren was arrested on January 31 after a seven-hour grilling by the central agency in a money laundering case linked to alleged land scam, shortly after he resigned as the chief minister.
A special PMLA court on Thursday extended the judicial custody of Soren till April 4.
The JMM leader is lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail at Hotwar in Ranchi where he was taken on February 15 after ED remand. PTI NAM MNB
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