Eight opposition parties write to PM, demanding an end to Central agency-led “witch-hunts”
Nine opposition party leaders, including K Chandrasekhar Rao (BRS), Mamata Banerjee (AITC), Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), Bhagwant Mann (AAP), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Farooq Abdullah (JKNC), Sharad Pawar (NCP), Uddhav Thackeray (SS-UBT) and Akhilesh Yadav (S)P), have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to protest the “blatant misuse of central agencies against the members of the opposition”, which “appears to suggest that we have transitioned from being a democracy to an autocracy”.
The letter, dated March 5, has expressed concern over the arrest of the former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on February 26, “after a long witch-hunt”. The letter points out that the “allegations against Shri Sisodia are outrightly baseless and smack of a political conspiracy”.
The letter mentions pertinently that “[o]ut of the total number of key politicians booked, arrested, raided or interrogated by the investigation agencies under your administration since 2014, the maximum belongs to the opposition”.
But then, those who join the BJP, are conveniently given an easier time, says the letter, giving the examples of Himanta Biswa Sharma, the current chief minister of Assam (named in the Sharadha chit fund scam)), Suvendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy from Bengal (both named in the Narada sting operation) and Narayan Rane of Maharashtra.
The letter also alleges that governors—appointed by the President, but on the advice of the government of the day— are being increasingly used in opposition party-ruled states for “wilfully undermining democratically elected state governments” and to “obstruct governance as per their whims and fancies”. The letter cites as examples Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bengal, Punjab, Telangana and Delhi as states where the governors have continuously been at loggerheads with the democratically-elected governments.
“The misuse of central agencies and constitutional offices like that of the Governor to settle scores outside of the electoral battlefield is strongly condemnable as it does not bode well for our democracy”, further says the letter, and reminds the prime minister in conclusion that the “mandate given by the people should be respected even if it was in favour of a party whose ideology
was contrary to yours”.
