The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
At INDIA bloc rally, focus on arrests of Kejriwal, Soren
THE ARRESTS of JMM’S former J hark hand chief minister hem ant Soren and AAP’S Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took centrestage at the INDIA bloc's rally in Ranchi on Sunday — the fourth such show of strength by the Opposition alliance in the last two months.
The Opposition leaders also accused the BJP of seeking to change the Constitution, and said democracy would end if the Bjpled government came back to power. While two empty chairs were left on the stage for Soren andkejriwal,t heir wives,k al pa na Soren and Sunita Kejriwal, were among those who addressed the ‘Ulgulan Rally’.
The Congress, SP, RJD, AAP, JMM and National Conference sent their top leaders, while the other parties were symbolically represented by second or third rung leaders. TMC’S West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, DMK’S Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, S hi vS en a(UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP leader Sharad Pawar skipped the rally. Among those present were: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, AAP'S Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Ra jyasabh amp san jays ingh,sp' s former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Singh, JMM’S Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, RJD’S former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwiy ad av, andj&knc leader Farooq Abdullah.
Earlier in the day, the congress said Rahul Gandhi had to skip the rally as he was indisposed. “Rahul Gandhi was all set to campaign todayin sat na an dr an chi where the
INDIA rally is being held. He took ill suddenly and is unable to leave New Delhi for the present,” said the party’s communication head, Jairam Ramesh.
Addressing the rally, Kharge accused the Bjp-led Centre of trying to “terrorise” Soren. “Hemant Soren was sent to jail for refusing to part ways with the INDIA bloc. Hemant Soren is a brave person who preferred going to jail rather than bowing down. BJP will be wiped out if it continues to terrorise tribals,” he said.
Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31 in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land fraud.
Kh ar ge also alleged that prime Minister Narendra Modi insulted President Droupadi Murmu and the tribal community by not inviting her to the consecration of the Ram Temple and inauguration of the new parliament building .“the
BJP considers tribals as untouchables,” he alleged.
Sun it akejriw al said sore na nd her husband were jailed although the court had not held them guilty yet. “What kind of investigation is this? This is a dictatorship... What is my husband’s fault? He runs good schools in Delhi, mohalla clinics for the poor… Before getting married to me, he asked me whether I had any problem if his aim was to do social service… As a ni rs officer, he used to take leave to work for the poor... Such a person was put in jail,” she said.
Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy case. “People said politics is dirty, it indeed is. there is a camera installed where he eats. Such a shame. He has been on insulin for the last 12 years... But they won’t give him insulin in jail, these people want to kill him,” she said.
She said Kejriwal has promised six guarantees if the INDIA bloc comes to power: “24-hour electricity to all india, free electricity to the poor, government schools in all village sand colonies, mo hall a clinics and multi-special i ty hospitals in all districts to access free healthcare, implementation of the Swami nathan committee's recommendations on farmers’ produce, and full statehood for Delhi.”
Kalpana Soren read out a letter from her husband: “This is the first time after independence that top opposition leaders, ev enc ms, are being putin jail on base less accusations… We will not allow democracy to be looted, the Constitution to be erased, and the country to be broken.”
RJD’S Tejashwi Yadav said Jh ark handh asset the stage to remove thebjp from power in order to protect democracy and the Constitution.