Kejriwal Arrest: INDIA Bloc Urges Election Commission to Check Misuse of State Machinery

INDIA bloc leaders, who submitted a memorandum to Election Commission of India over Kejriwal's arrest, listed out how Central agencies were misused to carry out raids on Rohit Pawar, leader of Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar, to arrest Jharkhand former CM Hemant Soren, to target Lalu Yadav, TMC's Mohua Moitra and others. The opposition leaders sought EC's intervention to stop misuse of state machinery.

New Delhi: A day after the late night arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday created huge outcry, INDIA bloc leaders on Friday submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission alleging misuse of the state machinery to target the opposition leaders across the country. The INDIA bloc took a jibe at the ruling BJP for misusing the central agencies and flagged the "erosion of level field for political parties contesting in Lok Sabha polls."

Addressing media persons after INDIA bloc's meeting with the EC over the ED arrest of Delhi's CM, senior Congressman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said: "We had a detailed discussion with the Election Commission. We told them that this is a very serious issue, and is not just about a specific person or party. This is a broader issue because it is concerned with the basic structure of the Constitution."

According to the memorandum submitted by INDIA bloc to the poll panel, "The entire nation is witnessing the unrelenting, blatant and illegal deployment of Central Agencies by the Party in Power to target, suffocate and intimidate the opposition parties. Such unconscionable misuse of State Machinery by a Party in Power, is a direct threat to the sanctity of free and fair elections, as they completely erode the core of our democracy, namely free and fair elections", it said.

The memorandum mentioned a list of all the opposition leaders including - raids by ED on Rohit Pawar, leader of Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar, arrest by ED of Jharkhand's CM Hemant Soren, raids and cases against Lalu Yadav, TMC's Mohua Moitra and others who have in the recent past faced the wrath of the agencies.

Urging the poll panel to take strong measures to put a halt to this, the memorandum said "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. This electoral process will have lost all sanctity if the Hon’ble Commission is unable to ensure a level playing field."

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