Eight Opposition leaders write letter to PM Modi

Bharat Rashtra Samithi President and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, along with leaders of eight major Opposition parties from across the country, dashed off a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday in the wake of the arrest of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, condemning the blatant misuse of central agencies apart from pointing out how several Governors were acting in violation of constitutional provisions.

In a letter signed by Chandrashekhar Rao, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (AITC), Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann (AAP), Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Farooq Abdullah (JKNC), Sharad Pawar (NCP), Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena, UBT) and Akhilesh Yadav (SP), the Opposition pointed out that blatant misuse of central agencies against members of the opposition appeared to suggest that the country had transitioned from an democracy



into an autocracy.

Stating that after a long witch-hunt, Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) without a shred of evidence against him, the leaders said the allegations against Sisodia were outrightly baseless and smacked of a political conspiracy.

“His arrest has enraged people across the country. Manish Sisodia is recognised globally for transforming Delhi’s school education. His arrest will be cited worldwide as an example of a political witch-hunt and further confirm what the world was only suspecting – that India’s democratic values stand threatened under an authoritarian BJP regime,” they said.

The letter also listed out a number of instances of the Modi government targeting Opposition parties while BJP leaders and those siding with the saffron party were allowed to roam scot-free.