Fourteen political parties, including the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, Rashtriya Janta Dal, Trinamool Congress, and DMK on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking pre-arrest and post-arrest guidelines for the CBI and ED due to ‘arbitrary arrest of opposition leaders’. The Apex Court agreed to list the plea on April 5. The plea comes a day after a Surat court sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to 2-year jail in a 2019 defamation case which has become the latest flashpoint between the government and the opposition parties. While several non-congress chief ministers condemned the Surat court verdict on Rahul Gandhi, the Congress on Friday scheduled a meeting of the opposition parties. AAP’s Manish Sisodia, BRS’s K Kavitha and RJD’s Tejashwi are the prominent leaders on the radar of the central agencies.
Manish Sisodia has been arrested by CBI and ED in the alleged Delhi liquor scam, K Kavitha has been questioned in connection with the same case and Tejashwi and his family members are being investigated for the land-for-job case.
Congress’s Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the 14 parties represent 42% spectrum. “They are saying that democracy is in peril. We are not trying to affect the existing investigation. 95% of cases are on opposition leaders. We are asking for pre- and post-arrest guidelines.”
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