Published 18:19 IST, March 23rd 2024

AAP a Party of ‘Thugs’: Congress Divided as ED Arrests Arvind Kejriwal

ED arrested Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday, following this Congress found itself in disarray, voicing differing opinions, exposing an open divide.

Reported by: Isha Bhandari
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AAP a Party of ‘Thugs’: Congress Divided as ED Arrests Arvind Kejriwal | Image: Republic
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New Delhi: Soon after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday, Congress found itself in disarray, voicing differing opinions, exposing an open divide within the party. 

Punjab Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu denounced the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) terming them "thugs." Bittu's scathing remarks questioned the integrity of the AAP, labeling them as hypocrites who promised Swaraj and Jan Lokpal but resorted to corruption. He highlighted the ongoing corruption case in Delhi as merely scratching the surface, emphasizing the yet-to-be-resolved issues surrounding Raghav Chadha. The conflicting response from Congress leaders underscores a palpable divide within the party. 

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Congress bigwigs call Kejriwal’s arrest ‘unconstitutional'

This comes following several Congress leaders opposed to Arvind Kejriwal's arrest calling it the “death of democracy" and “unconstitutional".

Criticising PM Modi's government, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra regarded how Arvind Kejriwal was arrested as “unconstitutional".

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“Fight your critics in the electoral battle, confront them boldly, and of course attack their policies and working style - this is democracy. But in this way, using the power of all the institutions of the country to fulfil one's political objective and weakening them by exerting pressure is against every principle of democracy," wrote Priyanka Gandhi on X in Hindi.

Criticising the present situation of Delhi Chief Minister, Congress leader Udit Raj said that the heavy police security around the Delhi CM's residence turned it into a “camp" as if Arvind Kejriwal is a “dacoit".

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“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, freezing the account 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. INDIA will give a befitting reply to this," wrote Rahul Gandhi on X.

Mentioning the freezing of Congress' accounts and arrest of Hemant Soren, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit criticised the manner in which CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by ED officials. “What is this way of reaching someone's house to arrest them? Be it freezing Congress' accounts, arresting Hemant Soren, or arresting Arvind Kejriwal, ED is just relating it to the elections. There is no other explanation. We condemn this action. You cannot kill a democratic party right before the elections," he told reporters.

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16:34 IST, March 22nd 2024