Protest against Kejriwal’s arrest in Assam, AAP leaders detained in Dibrugarh

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMarch 22, 2024

Police detained AAP Assam state convenor Bhaben Choudhury and the party candidate for Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat Manoj Dhanowar in Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh town on Friday to register their protest against the arrest of Delhi chief minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the enforcement directorate (ED) in an excise policy-linked money laundering case on Thursday evening.

Members of the AAP staged a protest outside the BJP office in Dibrugarh holding placards and AAP flags demanding the immediate unconditional arrest of Kejriwal.

Hours after Kejriwal’s arrest on Thursday evening, AAP had given a nationwide call for protest against the BJP-led NDA government.

Such protests were also carried out in various parts of the state, including Guwahati to condemn the action taken by the ED, while terming it a “conspiracy hatched by the BJP against Kejriwal.

Several hundred party workers took part in a protest staged in front of the AAP state office at Ganeshguri in Guwahati at 10 am on Friday.

The party workers staged another protest at the same place on Friday night.

AAP Assam state convenor Bhaben Choudhury said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must be “very scared” of Arvind Kejriwal and that is why he has been arrested at night. 

“It is amply clear that BJP wants to stop Kejriwal from campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls. This also proves that AAP is becoming a serious threat to BJP. Now, AAP will work with double energy and enthusiasm. We will have Kejriwals in every state, district and constituency,” he added.

Choudhury asserted that the BJP has committed a big blunder by arresting the AAP leader and the people will give a befitting reply to them.

Activists of Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal also staged demonstrations in Guwahati, Jorhat and Sivasagar, holding banners, and placards and raising slogans demanding the unconditional release of the Delhi chief minister.

Activists of Raijor Dal took out a protest in its party office at Gandhibasti here on Friday morning.

Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi in a series of posts on X slammed the arrest by the central agency and termed it an action of the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

“I condemn the arrest of my friend and Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal by the ED. This is a barbaric act of the BJP to silence the voices of the opposition when the LS elections are on the anvil,” he added.

Gogoi appealed to all the opposition forces in the country to unite and voice their support in favour of the Delhi chief minister to “save democracy”.

I condemn the arrest of my friend and Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal by the ED. This is a barbaric act of the BJP to silence the voices of the opposition when the LS elections are on the anvil. I appeal all the democratic opposition forces in the country to unite and voice their…

— Akhil Gogoi (@AkhilGogoiAG) March 21, 2024

“The dictatorial BJP government deploys the de-facto non-autonomous institution to dominate the opposition forces. The fascist BJP dislikes the notion of opposition in the country, hence, they want to cripple the voices of opposition and destroy democracy,” he added.

Condemning the NDA government at the Centre, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi minced no words to slam the arrest of the sitting chief minister on the X (formerly Twitter).

“Crushing the Opposition is second nature for this government. Two lows on the same day – freezing the accounts of INC India and arresting the sitting CM. “Independent agencies” are clearly working at the behest of political bosses,” Gogoi took to his X handle to react.

“The government is going to great lengths to silence opponents. The world’s largest democracy is headed to become a full-fledged autocracy. People watch, history remembers, truth prevails,” he said.

The Congress leader further criticised the government for freezing the party’s bank accounts ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the country.

“The freezing of INC India’s bank accounts is an assault on democracy itself. The idea of free and fair elections means a level playing field for all. Unfortunately, this autocratic government is monopolising resources and crippling the opposition,” Gogoi said.

“The institutions which are allegedly “protecting democracy” haven’t intervened at all. The people of India are the last hope. They are watching, and they will unite to undo the injustices of the BJP through the ballot,” he added.

Describing the arrest as a “political purpose”, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) president Lurinjyoti Gogoi said this is nothing but a vile strategy to disarm the opposition before the elections. 

“The BJP government has shown its lowly dictatorial policies by sealing the bank accounts of the country’s main opposition party, the Congress, and arresting Kejriwal by the ED,” Gogoi said.

Assam TMC president and former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora said the arrest of Kejriwal just before the general elections is completely “politically motivated” and a “murder of democracy”.

“I strongly condemn this act of BJP Govt. BJP is scared of INDIA Alliance, soon people of India will give a befitting reply to BJP in LS poll. #IStandWithKejriwal,” Bora said in a post on X.