New Delhi: Members of opposition parties staged a protest on the Parliament premises on Monday, condemning the central government’s alleged misuse of central agencies, including the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Prominent opposition MPs, including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor, KC Venugopal, Manish Tewari, K Suresh, Varsha Gaikwad, Benny Behnan, and Anto Antony, participated in the demonstration. Other participants included Kerala Congress (M)’s Jose K Mani, Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha, TMC MP Sagarika Ghosh, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, and CPI(M)’s John Brittas.
The protestors carried placards and posters with messages such as “Respect Opposition, Stop Intimidation!”, “Stop misusing agencies to silence opposition,” “End the reign of fear, stop ED, IT, CBI misuse,” and “Join BJP, get a license for corruption.”
Opposition parties have accused the central government of using central agencies to intimidate and silence opposition leaders. The recent arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Ministers, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and TMC Ministers by the ED and CBI in various cases have sparked widespread criticism.
Hemant Soren, who was arrested by the ED in connection with an alleged land scam, was released on bail on June 29 after 149 days in custody. Arvind Kejriwal was denied bail by the Delhi High Court earlier this month and remains in judicial custody as part of an investigation into the alleged liquor policy scam.
With both Houses of Parliament meeting after a two-day break, heated discussions on several issues, including the NEET row and new criminal laws, are expected to dominate the sessions.
