The arrest of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has again kicked up a political storm in the country. However, such incidents are no longer surprising. Such arrests have become very common under this BJP government. The question is whether the arrests are being made to achieve opposition-free or corruption-free India.
Soren, who resigned from his post before being detained, has been charged with money laundering in an alleged land fraud case. He is the latest opposition leader to be arrested by central agencies.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been accused by opposition leaders of being biased and misusing government agencies. Their allegation are not at all false or baseless.
According to a report in The Wire, 95 per cent of the cases investigated by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are against leaders of opposition parties. The report also revealed that the ED’s claim of 96 per cent conviction rate is misleading as it is based on a very small sample of cases on which courts have given the verdict.
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As per this analysis in The Wire, ED has registered 5,906 cases till March 2023, but filed chargesheets only in 1,142 cases. Of these, it has solved only 25 cases, which is only 0.42 per cent of the total number of cases. Out of these 25 cases, the ED was successful for conviction in 24 cases. Based on this, the ED claimed that the conviction rate is around 96 per cent. However, this is a completely false claim, as thousands of cases are still pending at various stages of investigation and trial as per by the wire.
Indeed,BJP is using the ED and the CBI as intimidation tool to harass and threaten its rivals, especially ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections due later this year. The BJP, however, denied any political interest or vendetta and said it was for realizing a corruption-free India.
Opposition-free India or corruption-free India
The BJP’s slogan of ‘Dynasty Mukt Bharat’ has been used to target the Congress and other regional parties. The BJP claims that it is the only party with internal democracy and merit-based leadership.
However, this claim is completely hollow. Hundreds of leaders can be identified who are seasoned dynasts politicians in the BJP.
In reality has no qualms on dynastic politics as hundreds of such leaders either from Congress or other opposition parties have been inducted into BJP. The most recent case is that of Congress leader from Maharashtra Milan Deora. So, the slogan of ‘Dynamic Mukt Bharat’ is hollow. The aim is to intimidate the political leaders of the opposition parties and make the elections in their favor.
In the last 10 years, the BJP has shown little tolerance for dissent and criticism of its government, and has tried its best to undermine the institutions and principles of democracy.
The party has successfully contributed in the decline of federalism and pushed minorities on the margin.
Hemant Soren’s arrest is not an isolated incident, but a reflection of political vendetta and authoritarianism of Indian politics, which has increased significantly in the last few years.
There is an urgent need for opposition parties to unite and resist this attack on democracy, and the people need to exercise their right to vote wisely and hold the government accountable for its actions.
