Congress calls Kejriwal relief ‘BJP script’, allies rally behind AAP chief

Tamil Nadu CM Stalin said the BJP-led union government "must not mortgage" the integrity of investigating agencies for short-term politics.

New Delhi: The relief for AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in liquor scam case on Friday exposed chinks in the Opposition, with the Congress calling it a "predictable script" from the BJP in favour of "convenient allies" ahead of Gujarat and Punjab elections.

I.N.D.I.A allies Samajwadi Party, DMK, Trinamool Congress and RJD , however, differed with the Congress, describing the court order as "nothing short of a moral death sentence" and warning the government that it should "not mortgage" the integrity of investigating agencies for short-term politics.

Congress Media and Publicity Department Chairman Pawan Khera referred to AAP and Trinamool Congress in a terse tweet claiming that the BJP will "stoop to any level for one obsessive goal: defeat Congress -- Congress Mukt Bharat".

"The BJP is not a political party. It is a shape-shifter, a wishful serpent - 'Icchadhari Naag'...For 12 years they spewed venom at the TMC. And now? Narendra Modi himself is showering it with praise - not out of respect, but to land a cheap blow at Congress," he posted on 'X'.

"Elections are coming. So the script is predictable. Cases against Congress leaders will suddenly accelerate -- P Chidambaram has already been dragged back into the spotlight because Tamil Nadu is going for polls. Meanwhile, proceedings against their convenient 'allies' in the AAP and others will quietly vanish in light of the Gujarat and Punjab elections. This is the BJP playbook: vendetta as governance and agencies as campaign tools," he said.

However, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, RJD's Manoj K Jha and Trinamool Congress' Mahua Moitra and Saket Gokhale among others came in support of Kejriwal. Congress and AAP are at loggerheads and the latter had exited the I.N.D.I.A bloc ahead of Delhi Assembly elections last year.

Stalin said the BJP-led union government "must not mortgage" the integrity of investigating agencies for short-term politics. "Have some shame. Well done, my respected friends Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia , for standing firm through it all and letting the truth speak for itself," he posted on X.

For the BJP, Yadav said, this news is "nothing short of a ‘moral death sentence" as he emphasised that no accusation can ever be so grand that it shrouds the truth.

Alleging that those who level false allegations even against religious leaders and saints could go to any extent to defame a government, party or individual, he said, "today, every honest soul will breathe a sigh of hopeful relief, while BJP supporters must be writhing in deep shame and profound self-reproach. The BJP has betrayed the residents of Delhi."

RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj K Jha said, "when a vendetta inspires a case, this is what happens to it. I say with confidence that all the cases running against as many people as there are, including my leadership, will meet the same fate."

Mehboba said the court order exposes the "high handedness" of investigative agencies. "When agencies are wielded like political swords, justice becomes the first casualty and truth surfaces only after years of pain and tears. No prima facie case. No credible evidence. Yet years of incarceration. Nothing is more dangerous than the misuse of power and the weaponisation of institutions. Yet somehow it continues unabated," she said.

Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Gokhale said a "fake, fabricated" case was filed by the BJP to defame Opposition leaders who were arrested and mistreated in order to break their will and tarnish their reputation. "Yet again, BJP’s shameless tactic of using CBI and ED as their political tools stands exposed. The Modi-Shah government will soon fall apart just like these fake cases," he claimed.

"BJP, learn your lesson while there is still time. All your dirty tricks, your ED, your CBI - all these puppets will die in the face of truth," Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra said.