Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Thursday broke the party’s silence on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh’s arrest by Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case. Congress condemned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its ‘vendetta politics’, and gave out a message for its ally in the INDIA bloc – a coalition formed by key Opposition parties to come to grips with BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The senior Congress leader expressed solidarity with the AAP MP and criticised the ruling BJP for the ‘use of law enforcement agencies to settle political scores’.
“AAP MP Sh. @SanjayAzadSln ji’s arrest by the ED takes the BJP’s vendetta politics to another level. We stand in complete solidarity with him and reject the use of law enforcement agencies to settle political scores,” Venugopal wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Congress’s message for AAP
Further in his post, Venugopal took a veiled dig at the AAP over Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira’s arrest by the Punjab government in a 2015 drug case. Drawing parallels with the BJP, the Congress opposed the arrest and argued that authorities must act within the boundaries of the Constitution. “We cannot become those we oppose.”
“We also oppose the arrests of All India Kisan Sabha Chairperson Sh. @SukhpalKhaira ji and former Punjab Dty. CM Sh. OP Saini ji (sic) by the Punjab police. Democratic principles of a fair trial and authorities acting within the boundaries of the Constitution are non-negotiable,” the Congress leader further wrote.
Congress-AAP squabble
Both the INDIA allies are at odds after the arrests of Congress leaders in Punjab. Senior Congress leaders including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge denounced the move saying the party will not tolerate if ‘anyone does injustice to us’. Whereas, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring termed the arrests ‘an attempt to intimidate the opposition’.
Meanwhile, Delhi CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal attempted to put a damper on the surging ire a day after Khaira’s arrest and said his party is not against anyone but the drug menace.
Seat-sharing fiasco
Congress and AAP are in a seat-sharing battle in Punjab, contrary to the pact between them at the national level. Rift started to grow further after Congress asked AAP to bow out of the election over the seat-sharing in Chandigarh Lok Sabha constituency.
In Delhi too, both the parties were in a fray after a Congress leader blew off a row over bracing up for contesting in all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, adding that no final decision was taken on whether the Congress will contest all seven seats alone or in an alliance. AAP hit back with a response. “If they do not want an alliance in Delhi, then going to INDIA meeting is pointless and a waste of time. Our top leadership will decide whether we have to attend the next INDIA meeting,” AAP spokesperson countered.
