A top Indian opposition leader will remain in custody for two more weeks, following his arrest by the federal financial crime-fighting agency.
The extension of his detention comes despite protests from opposition parties who claim it is part of a crackdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his rivals ahead of the country’s April 19 national elections.
Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man's Party, is the top elected official in the city of New Delhi and has been an influential politician for the past decade. Kejriwal is accused of accepting $12 million in bribes from liquor contractors around 2 years ago. The AAP has denied the accusations.
"These people have only one aim, they want to put him in prison during the elections," Kejriwal's wife, Sunita, told reporters, referring to Modi's government. "The people will give a response to this dictatorship."
Opposition parties allege the government is exploiting federal agencies to target political rivals, citing a pattern of raids, arrests, and corruption probes. They argue this undermines fair competition in elections, a claim denied by Modi’s government.
Kejriwal has denied the allegations against him and accused the directorate of "manipulating investigative agencies for political motives."
Kejriwal also has called his arrest "a political conspiracy."
The detention decision came shortly after a New Delhi rally organized by the INDIA bloc, comprising 27 opposition parties including AAP, protesting Kejriwal’s arrest and accusing Modi of trying to rig the election.
However, the government’s legal representation in the case said that Kejriwal’s "conduct has been totally non-cooperative" and that he could potentially be put in custody following more investigations.
This marks the first instance of a chief minister in India being arrested while in office.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
