"Arrest of yet another CM reeks of political vendetta and growing authoritarianism": Mehbooba Mufti

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], March 22 : Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday condemned the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and labelled it as an act of political vendetta and a sign of increasing authoritarianism.
The PDP chief claimed that this move exposed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) apprehensions of resorting to desperate measures to manipulate elections even before they are held.
"The arbitrary arrest of yet another CM by ED reeks of political vendetta & growing authoritarianism. This cowardly act has exposed fears of the ruling party now resorting to desperate measures by manipulating elections even before they are held. History has shown that tyranny never prevails in the face of unified resistance. We will not be intimidated," tweets PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti.

A team from the Enforcement Directorate arrived at Kejriwal's residence to interrogate him regarding the liquor policy case. During a search operation conducted at his home, Kejriwal was arrested amidst dramatic circumstances, as the AAP convener failed to obtain interim protection from arrest in the liquor policy case from the Delhi High Court.The Enforcement Directorate took him to the agency's headquarters later. A medical team also arrived at the ED office.
AAP workers and leaders rallied behind Kejriwal following his arrest while leaders of the INDIA bloc also extended their support for the AAP leader. BJP leaders endorsed the ED's actions against the Delhi Chief Minister, emphasizing "truth had to prevail".
AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atishi said they had moved the Supreme Court to quash Kejriwal's arrest and have sought an urgent hearing.
"We have moved the Supreme Court for quashing the arrest of Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal by ED. We have asked for an urgent hearing by the Supreme Court tonight itself," Atishi said in a post on X.
She had earlier said that Kejriwal will run the government from jail.
However, Kejriwal did not get any special hearing on the late night.
According to sources, there was no special bench set up on Thursday night to hear Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea against arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the action by ED shows that cowardice of those who fear the democratic proces
said, "Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest is highly objectionable. This action is part of the effort to shut down the opposition voices at the stage of the election process. This shows the cowardice of those who fear the democratic process."
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the arrest of Kejriwal and accused him of resorting to "dictatorial tactics" to destroy democracy in the country.
The Congress leader also accused the BJP-led NDA government of "capturing institutions", including the media.
"A scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy. While capturing all the institutions, including the media, breaking up the parties, extorting money from companies, and freezing the accounts of the main opposition party was not enough for the 'devilish power', now the arrest of the elected chief ministers has also become a common thing," he posted on X.
He said that the opposition INDIA bloc will give a "befitting reply to this".
Terming Kejriwal's arrest as "unconstitutional", Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said "such shameful scenes are being witnessed for the first time in independent India".
She said the 'new low' in politics and political discourse neither favours Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor his government at the Centre."
"Targeting Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal in this manner due to elections is completely wrong and unconstitutional. Lowering the level of politics in this manner neither suits the Prime Minister nor his government. Fight your critics in the electoral battle, confront them boldly, and of course, attack their policies and working style--all those are par for the course in a democracy. But using all the institutions of the country to fulfill one's political objective and weakening them by exerting pressure is against every grain of democracy," Priyanka Gandhi posted on X.
"The bank accounts of the country's largest Opposition party, the Congress, have been frozen. All Opposition parties and their leaders are under pressure, night and day, from the ED, CBI and IT. One chief minister (Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren) was put in jail and now another (Kejriwal) is behind bars as well. Such shameful scenes are being seen for the first time in the history of independent India," she added.
CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury strongly condemned the arrest of Delhi CM.
"It's the second sitting CM of the INDIA bloc to be arrested. Clearly, Modi and the BJP are in panic over people's rejection in the ongoing elections. All opposition leaders who defected and joined the BJP are protected and patronised. They are the 'Satya Harishchandras'! These arrests will only cement people's desire to defeat BJP, defend democracy and Indian Constitution," he said in a post on X.
Two senior AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are in judicial custody in the excise policy case. Sisodia, who was the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 following several rounds of questioning. On October 5, ED arrested Sanjay Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member.