Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate seems to have worked in reuniting the disgruntled opposition parties of the INDIA bloc. Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has decided to participate in a joint opposition rally on March 31 at the Ramlila grounds in New Delhi. While Banerjee will not be attending the rally in person as she will be launching her party’s Lok Sabha campaign in West Bengal on the same day, two TMC leaders will be representing the party.
Kejriwal’s arrest, which followed the arrest of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren by the ED in January, has evoked a strong reaction from opposition parties. The TMC, which had distanced itself from the INDIA bloc, has now returned, with Banerjee announcing a joint delegation to meet with the Election Commission.
The Congress, an ally of Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, Gujarat, and Haryana for the LS polls, claims that Kejriwal’s arrest demonstrates Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fear of the INDIA bloc. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called it vendetta politics and stated that the Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah are rattled by the INDIA bloc. He further emphasized that the arrests of Soren and Kejriwal and the targeting of other opposition leaders with central agencies like the ED, CBI, and Income Tax, indicate the mindset of the Prime Minister. According to Ramesh, Kejriwal’s arrest will lead to a more united fight by the INDIA bloc.
Mamata Banerjee, considering it a deliberate attack on opposition chief ministers while BJP-linked tainted leaders remain untouched, announced that the INDIA bloc would meet the Election Commission to express their objections to the arrests of opposition leaders. The rally at Ramlila grounds aims to showcase the opposition’s anger towards the alleged misuse of power by the BJP-led central government. However, its impact on the ground remains to be seen as opposition parties face challenges from the dominant BJP across states.
This joint show of strength by opposition parties is expected to highlight the BJP-led Centre’s alleged misuse of power and the unity of the INDIA bloc against it.
