INDIA bloc stages protest at Parliament against ‘misuse’ of Central agencies

INDIA bloc stages protest at Parliament against ‘misuse’ of Central agencies

Leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest on the Parliament premises here on Tuesday against alleged misuse of Central investigative agencies.

The Opposition leaders held a demonstration in front of the Makar Dwar at the new Parliament building shouting slogans against the Narendra Modi Government and holding aloft placards reading, “End the reign of fear. Stop ED, Income Tax, CBI misuse; respect Opposition, stop intimidation.”

The INDIA bloc has been accusing the ruling dispensation of misusing agencies to target prominent leaders of the Opposition alliance. They have become vocal in their criticism of the government on the alleged misuse of the Central agencies after the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren by the ED.

Kejriwal, also the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. He was initially arrested by the ED in March in a liquor policy case before being formally arrested by the CBI after a local court issued a bail order in his favour on June 26.

It may be mentioned here that in March, at the “Save Democracy” mega rally organised by the INDIA bloc at the Ramlila Maidan, Opposition leaders vociferously demanded the release of Kejriwal and Soren.

While Soren, who was arrested by the ED in an alleged land scam case, has been released from jail last week after the Jharkhand High Court granted him bail, Kejriwal is still incarcerated with his bail plea pending a hearing in the Supreme Court.

Notably, the protest on Tuesday came close on the heels of a demonstration by the INDIA bloc at Parliament last week alleging an attack on the Constitution under the Narendra Modi-led NDA Government.