BJP-AAP political battle in the national capital territory turning uglier with passage of time is known to all. The times and occasions when cases have been registered and actions have been taken against AAP leaders happen to be so close to political events in the Union Territory, that one tends to think that they are directly linked to political considerations.
AAP has called the arrest of Manish Sisodia a “black day for democracy”. The party has also threatened protest demonstrations against the arrests and several leaders of AAP have been arrested by Delhi Police to prevent any massive demonstration, while an enormous number of police personnel have been deployed on Delhi roads and in front of BJP offices.
BJP is now targeting Arvind Kejriwal terming him the ‘real kingpin’ of the excise scam in connection of which Manish Sisodia was arrested on February 26 and their several leaders have said that ‘he is the next’ to be taken action against.
Leaders of the entire opposition are hounded by the Modi government is an old allegation. Last year a report submitted to the Supreme Court of India had stated that large numbers of cases are pending in courts, and the cases are moving very slowly. There is lack of evidence in many, while many are kept alive only to tame the opposition leaders.
In Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal had said last year during the election to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, that BJP is accusing us of corruption – they have found nothing – not one paisa. They have attacked Manish Sisodia, tore his cushions and mattresses – found not a paisa. Over the last seven years they have filed 167 cases against AAP leaders – not one has been proved in court. About 800 probe agency officers are dedicated only to find a paisa-worth of wrongdoing by AAP. They have found nothing.
The arrest of Manish Sisodia, is therefore, a matter of social concern, irrespective of the merit or demerit of the case in which he has been arrested. BJP-AAP has been battling tough political battles against each other ever since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of the country. Right under the nose of the seat of power in New Delhi, AAP goes on offering humiliating defeats in every state election.
In Delhi Vidhan Sabha Election 2015, AAP had won 67 out of 70 seats leaving only 3 for the BJP. In 2020, their seats were respectively 62 and 8. Despite losing elections, the government tried its best to rule Delhi through its appointed Lieutenant Governor who interfered in all possible ways including officially encouraging officials not to obey elected governments directions. The matter was raised in the Supreme Court in 2018, in which it was ruled that LG did not have independent decision-making powers and the real power must lie with the elected government.
SC had also ruled that “a balanced federal structure mandates that the Union does not usurp all powers and the states enjoy freedom without any unsolicited interference from the centre… there is no room for absolutism and there is no room for anarchism also”. Against this SC ruling, the Modi government brought a law on March 28, 2021 and changed the definition for the “government” in Delhi to mean “Lieutenant Governor” making a nominated or appointed person over the elected body violating the very principle of democracy.
