On 30th June, various leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc protested at Jantar Mantar regarding the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, Aam Aadmi party convener, and the Chief minister of Delhi, who was in jail since march over allegations of fraud in the now-suspended Delhi excise policy of 2021-22.
The wife of the Chief Minister, Sunita Kejriwal, went to the press stating that indeed the Chief Minister was in great danger and went on to launch a scorching attack on BJP stating that the party was now using politics of hatred and that the arrest of Arvind was a well choreographed political drama. With the support of other opposition parties as well, she introduced the association’s leaders of the INDIA bloc to the protest.
एक गहरे राजनैतिक षड्यंत्र के तहत जेल में CM अरविंद केजरीवाल जी के स्वास्थ्य के साथ खिलवाड़ किया जा रहा है। BJP की इस साज़िश और तानाशाही के खिलाफ़ आज इंडिया गठबंधन ने एक सुर में अपनी आवाज़ बुलंद की। अन्याय के ख़िलाफ़ हमारा ये संघर्ष जारी रहेगा।
Posted By: Team Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/jMoLY9UhSv
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 30, 2024
Representative in Congress Pramod Tiwari in the favor of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the present Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that they fully support Kejriwal on moral grounds. Other ECs then spoke to show support for the AAP including Akhilesh Yadav from the Samajwadi Party, Derek O’Brien from the TMC, Sharad Pawar from the NCP, Sanjay Raut from the Shiv Sena and Manoj Kumar Jha from the RJD.
The issue involving Kejriwal’s health arose on July 29 when there was a conflict between the Delhi LG office of VK Saxena and AAP. The LG’s office accused Kejriwal of deliberately not following the prescribed diet in jail, contesting his very weight loss due to a low number of calories consumed. The AAP responded by asking why Kejriwal would expose himself to such a situation, especially since the latter has type-2 diabetes and high risky blood sugar level during imprisonment.
Sunita Kejriwal raised genuine health issues that her husband suffered from saying that he had diabetes for 22 years, and he takes insulin. She said that insulin was first withheld from him in prison, which eventually called for a court order for its administration. She also spoke of a sensor clipped on Kejriwal’s arm to check his blood sugar level and went on to state that his sugar level has touched below fifty five at least five times when he was asleep. She blamed the authorities of neglecting his health complications as a way of causing his demise.
There are seconds Pt being criticized on this arrest of Kejriwal by the ED as unlawful, the court first saw no substance in the case, before releasing him on bail. However, to ensure that Kejriwal does not go free the ED appealed to the high court hence leading to more detention of the ailing man. Tiwari described the arrest as unconstitutional and an attempt to thwart Kejriwal from being out of jail.
In protest, different leaders of the INDIA bloc provided powerful statements of declaration. Republican Party’s Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi invoked these sentiments and warned that the BJP led Centre will not complete its full term, the public needs to get ready for the next election; only the INDIA bloc will defend the constitution and democracy. Akhilesh Yadav supported the AAP and condemned the cases against Kejriwal and called for his release. He also pledged to abolish agencies that enemies of opposition claimed were used to immunize opposition leaders if the INDIA bloc was to form the government.
Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena said the arrest of Kejriwal whom he referred to as a ‘Mahanayak,’ that is, protagonist, was the height of injustice and guna or force of INDIA bloc would expose the ED and CBI once in office. He vowed to carry on the protest until Kejriwal and the other AAP leaders were released and even went as far as threatening retribution on the three BJP giants.
However, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva warned the INDIA bloc leaders that it would never support a chief minister facing corruption charges. He focused on the fact that the judiciary rather than political structures made a decision to detain Kejriwal , which means that such protest was rather unjustified because it was courts who continued keeping Kejriwal in prison.
A protest rally was held, organized at Jantar Mantar, stressing the political instability between the AAP and the BJP and the general approval of Kejriwal within the INDIA bloc as preservatives of a political plot and health problems of the leader in prison.
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