Analysis: Arrests Galore, A Harbinger Of Democracy’s Doom

The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has raised a series of questions and left the public wondering about the direction in which the country is headed, despite the ruling party and its supporters predictably welcoming the move and have also led to people talking about the erosion of democracy in our country.

One point raised by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that Kejriwal heads, various opposition parties and even a significantly large section of the public, is that of the timing of the arrest in connection with the Delhi liquor policy scam. The policy was introduced in November 2021 with the aim to modernising alcohol sales in the city. However, less than a year later, in July 2022, Delhi’s Chief Secretary, who then reported to the central government through the Lieutenant Governor (LG) and not to the Delhi Chief Minister, reported violations in the policy to LG Vinai Kumar Saxena. The LG recommended a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the report that was submitted alleged financial losses of more than Rs580 crore to the exchequer.

It is also pertinent to note that Kalvakuntla Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the MLC from Nizamabad, was arrested on March 15, 2024, in connection with the liquor scam. Kavitha, a member of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi party, has termed her arrest illegal and a classic case of abuse of power.

Opposition members have claimed that Kejriwal and Kavitha have been arrested now to ensure that the campaigns by these parties for the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are severely hampered. That holds a lot of water as it is a no brainer that Kejriwal would not be able to campaign effectively, if at all, from behind bars but would have had a huge impact had he been free to campaign.

However, Kejriwal and Kavitha are not the only leaders to have been arrested at this juncture. Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31, 2024. Soren had anticipated such action and had resigned ahead of his arrest, handing over the reins to Champai Soren. The central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the CBI, and the IT department, have also been acting against leaders of other opposition parties, such as the DMK and the Trinamool Congress, which could pose a serious threat to the ambitious target set by the BJP for the general elections.

The arrest of the AAP chief on Thursday is also said to have been made to divert attention from the electoral bonds issue, especially with the State Bank of India finally giving all the details about the bonds to the Election Commission, thus allowing people to match donors with political parties. This is said to be a blow for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has already faced a setback with the Supreme Court ruling against the bond scheme and also because it has become evident that the party is the biggest recipient of money through the bonds. Besides, some people have also joined the dots to link raids by the ED on certain entities and purchase of bonds by those very entities.

The point to ponder is whether there is enough evidence to implicate Kejriwal in the scam. The government claims that there is more than enough evidence to do so. If so, there seems to be no reason for the ED to have waited for nearly two years to send him summons. It is also interesting to note that the ED is mandated to investigated offences of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws. However, nothing that has come out till now shows that Kejriwal could be implicated on these counts, especially with regard to the liquor policy.

What also becomes increasingly evident is bias that is evident in the actions of the government. The Centre has spent a considerable amount of its resources to ensure action is taken some people, all of whom are among its opponents. However, it has done little to bring to book people such as Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP Lok Sabha MP whom several award winning wrestlers had accused to sexual harassment. No action has also been taken against Ramesh Bidhuri, another BJP Lok Sabha MP, who had cast communal slurs against a then Bahujan Samaj Party MP, Danish Ali, during a session of Parliament. There is no word about any action against Pratap Simha, a BJP MP, who issued passes to two youths who burst canisters containing coloured gas in Parliament when it was in session.

The biased approach of central agencies with regard to taking action against deemed offenders is thus increasingly being seen as a tool to suppress dissent and muffle voices of protest against the wrongdoings of the government. This can in no way be good and certainly is not a sign of democracy.

Premangshu Ray is Executive Editor, The Free Press Journal, and writes on socio-political issues

Published on: Saturday, March 23, 2024, 06:00 AM IST