Delhi liquor scam: Here's what Opposition leaders said on Kejriwal's arrest

With protests planned by AAP workers at the BJP headquarters, the traffic police advised commuters to avoid Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg which has been closed for traffic movement

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on Thursday night by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case. Following months of refusal of the ED's repeated summons, nine in total, the federal agency locked up the Aam Aadmi Party national convenor after the Delhi High Court refused to grant relief to the AAP leader against any 'coercive action'.

Soon after his arrest, reactions from political parties started pouring in, slamming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governance tactics.

Rahul Gandhi calls Modi "scared dictator"

Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi hit out against the BJP in a social media post, terming PM Modi a "scared dictator" and the BJP a "devilish power". 

 

"A scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy. While capturing all the institutions, including the media, breaking up the parties, extorting money from companies, and freezing the accounts of the main opposition party was not enough for the 'devilish power', now the arrest of the elected Chief Ministers has also become a common thing. INDIA will give a befitting reply to this," Gandhi posted on X (formerly Twitter).

'SC should take suo motu cognisance': Shashi Tharoor

Lashing out at the BJP for the arrest and freezing Congress party's bank accounts, MP Shashi Tharoor urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of democratic principles of the Indian Constitution. 

"Shocked by the news of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Coming hard on the heels of the crippling freeze on @INCIndia's bank accounts, it is clear that a systematic effort is on to destroy Indian democracy… I would urge the Honorable Supreme Court of India to take suo motu cognisance of this betrayal of the democratic principles based in the basic structure of the Constitution," he posted on X.

'Attempt to silence Opposition voices': Kerala CM P Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the arrest of the AAP leader saying that the arrest was a part of silencing Opposition voices. "The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal is outright vicious and part of a callous plot to silence all opposition voices just ahead of the general elections. This exposes the cowardice of those who fear democratic process and calls for collective action to resist abuse of power," the Kerala CM said.

'BJP scared it won't come to power again': Akhilesh Yadav

Keeping the Lok Sabha elections in sight, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav targeted the BJP saying that the arrest will ignite a revolution throughout the country. "BJP knows that it will not come to power again, due to this fear, it wants to remove the opposition leaders from the public by any means at the time of elections, arrest is just an excuse. This arrest will give birth to a new people's revolution," he posted on the microblogging platform.

Desperate witch-hunt by BJP govt.': Tamil Nadu CM Stalin

Calling the BJP government "Fascist", Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin launched a scathing attack on PM Modi. He said that no BJP leader is undergoing scrutiny or facing arrests and that it is an abuse of power in a democracy. "Ahead of #Elections2024, driven by fear of a decade of failures and the imminent defeat, the Fascist BJP Govt sinks to despicable depths… Not a single BJP leader faces scrutiny or arrest, laying bare their abuse of power and the decay of democracy. The relentless persecution of opposition leaders by the BJP Govt smacks of a desperate witch-hunt," he tweeted shortly after Kejriwal's arrest.

'Those opposing BJP have to contest from behind bars': AIADMK

Former NDA ally All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK) also hit out against the BJP saying that as per the party's agenda, all opposition will be put behind bars and have to contest the elections without any funds. "This arrest proves that there is a three-point agenda for the BJP. First, whoever opposes the BJP, should contest from behind bars. Second, whoever is opposing BJP, will run out of funds and will be unable to use party funds. Third, whoever is out on bail, BJP will not have any hesitation to have an alliance with them," AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan said.

'Vindictive misuse of federal agencies': Sharad Pawar

Condemning the use of federal agencies for fulfilling personal vendettas, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said, "Strongly condemn the vindictive misuse of central agencies to target the opposition, especially as general elections loom. This arrest showcases the depth to which BJP will stoop for power. 'INDIA' stands united against this unconstitutional action against #ArvindKejriwal".

'Karma catches up': Sharmistha Mukherjee

However, former President Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee took a swipe at the Delhi Chief Minister and said his arrest was just 'karma catching up'. She accused Kejriwal of making "baseless and irresponsible" allegations against the then Delhi Chief Minister and Congress leader Sheila Dikshit. "He & Anna Hazare gang were responsible for making most irresponsible, baseless & wild allegations against Congress including Sheila Dikshit ji saying he had 'trunk loads' of evidence against her. No one has seen the 'trunk' so far. Karma catches up!," she posted on X.