The statements made by United Nations’ Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday over Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest while Lok Sabha polls being right around the corner have become quite a topic of discussion. Guterres’ spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric while commenting on the Kejriwal’s arrest and freezing of Congress’ bank account said that the UN wishes to have the political as well as civil rights protected during the general elections in India so that everyone can vote in an independent and unbiased environment.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the US State Department had said that it is closely monitoring reports of Mr Kejriwal’s arrest, and called on New Delhi to ensure “a fair and timely legal process” for the jailed Aam Aadmi Party leader. The US State Department’s comments came days after Germany’s Foreign Office stressed that Kejriwal, like any other Indian citizen facing charges, is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. The External Affairs Ministry of India summoned Gloria Berbena, US’ Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, for a 40-minute meet at its office in Delhi on Wednesday afternoon. In a brief statement released shortly afterwards, spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal has termed the comments from USA as “unwarranted” and “unacceptable” and said that India is proud of its independent and robust democratic institutions. Germany too, had made similar remarks over Kejriwal’s arrest but had later withdrawn their statement after India’s strong objection. However, America has reiterated its stance.
Technically, Kejriwal’s arrest or freezing Congress’ bank accounts are India’s internal matters but what could be the reason behind USA’s stance on it? Is it signalling the recently growing tension between India and America? USA President Joe Biden turned down India’s invitation to be present at the Republic Day parade as chief guest and chose to attend the Quad Summit instead. This could be called the most recent example. Or, one must also remember America accusing an Indian national security officer of planning the murder of most-wanted Khalistani leader Gurpatvant Singh Pannun who was residing in America. Indeed, there is no doubt that bilateral relations between the two countries regarding trade, technology sharing, military, as well as strategic cooperation are still very strong. However, one cannot deny the fact that when the USA makes a comment that leads to suspicion over democratic environment in the country, it’s bound to have an impact on the universal stage.
So, it is obvious to then raise questions over the state of Indian democracy and whether it is still able to protect the rights of the people. This then leads to the series of actions taken by major intelligence agencies such as ED, CBI and IT over the last ten years. The Opposition has constantly alleged that these agencies have been misused by the ruling party in its favour to eradicate the opposition parties entirely. As per Congress leader and Arvind Kejriwal’s lawyer Abhishek Manu Sanghavi, 95% of the total actions by central intelligence agencies since 2014 have been against MLAs, MPs and those associated with the opposition parties. Interestingly, the accusations have been proven true in only 5% of the cases. Fourteen political parties, including Congress, had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in regard to this on March 24 this year. The petitioners had urged the Supreme Court to have an urgent hearing on the matter of the Central government misusing CBI and ED to wrongfully harass the Opposition, however, the apex court refused to take upon such a hearing. As mentioned in the petition, only 14 (53%) out of total 26 political leaders were from the Opposition parties who were interrogated by ED during UPA’s 10-year long rule. On the other hand, 115 political leaders out of 121 are from Opposition parties during the Modi government’s nine years. At the same time, 93% of the cases were filed from the raids conducted by ED during UPA rule while the number of raids after 2014 stands at more than 3,000. Interestingly, only 29% of those matters were heard in the court while ED could not make a strong case in the rest of the matters.
These discrepancies are being discussed all over again after Kejriwal’s arrest. A person who happens to be from one of the major opposition parties and a sitting CM has to spend time in jail while only 20 days remain for the first phase of the voting for Lok Sabha elections. Is it possible for central agencies being under political pressure to achieve this accurate timing? It is important to analyse it on the background of serious accusations levied by the various parties. Merely four days before Chattisgarh went up for the Assembly polls, ED claimed that the promoters of betting apps had possibly transferred Rs 508 crore to the then Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel who is from Congress party. Soon after this, BJP leaders accused Baghel of being involved in a huge scam. This led to change in the mood of voters instantly. It would not be unfair to say that the same tactics are being used in the case of Kejriwal.
As AAP’s two leaders are already in jail in the liquor sale scam, followed by Kejriwal’s arrest, the complexities will only increase from here on. It is clear as day that longer Kejriwal – one of the biggest Opposition voices – remains in jail, it would only benefit BJP. The future politics will be played based on the court’s verdict on April 1.
