INDIA Bloc Plans Parliament Protest Over Agency Misuse Claims

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused central investigative agencies of misleading the Supreme Court. The party announced that the opposition INDIA bloc will protest on Parliament premises on Monday. Addressing a press conference on Sunday, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh stated that despite a trial court granting bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought the High Court's intervention and secured a stay on the bail.

Singh claimed that when Kejriwal seemed set to receive bail from the Supreme Court, the central government got him arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He described this as a blatant misuse of investigating agencies, adding that both ED and CBI lack evidence against Arvind Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia. There was no immediate reaction from any of the investigative agencies.

INDIA Bloc Plans Protest

Singh mentioned that the INDIA bloc plans to protest against these agencies in Parliament on Monday. He highlighted that during Manish Sisodia's bail hearing in the Supreme Court, the court questioned the ED about the prolonged investigation. "The SC told the ED that the investigation is going on for one-and-a-half years. How long will you keep a person in jail? There cannot be an endless investigation," he said.

According to Singh, the ED assured the Supreme Court that they would complete the trial in six to eight months. However, six months have passed, and Sisodia remains in jail without a charge sheet being filed or the trial starting. Singh alleged, "The whole country knows that the ED had said that the entire trial would be over."

Meeting at Kharge's Residence

The INDIA bloc parties convened at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's house on Saturday to discuss the issue of misuse of investigative agencies. Singh stated that everyone unanimously decided to protest against the misuse of ED-CBI across the country on Parliament premises at 10:30 am on Monday.

Singh also pointed out that apart from Arvind Kejriwal, several leaders in West Bengal, including Hemant Soren, Sanjay Raut, and Anil Deshmukh, were jailed. He added that ED-CBI actions were taken against Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Sharad Pawar, and Tejashwi Yadav. Continuous raids are being conducted against Uddhav Thackeray's and Sharad Pawar's parties.

Furthermore, Singh mentioned that action is being taken against Tejashwi Yadav's entire family and Mamata Banerjee's nephew. He emphasised that this pattern of targeting opposition leaders is evident across various states.

The AAP's allegations highlight ongoing tensions between opposition parties and central investigative agencies. The planned protest aims to draw attention to what they perceive as misuse of power by these agencies.