India opposition accuses government of crackdown after minister's arrest
By Rupam Jain
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India's opposition parties accused the government on Thursday of targeting their leaders in the build-up to elections after the financial crime agency arrested a state chief minister on corruption charges, the latest in a series of investigations.
Hemant Soren, Chief Minister of the eastern state of Jharkhand, denied any wrongdoing in a video message posted online hours before his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday evening.
Soren is a senior leader of the opposition "INDIA" alliance, made up of more than two dozen parties campaigning to unseat Prime Minister Narendra Modi in general elections due by May.
"I will continue my struggle and win against this political conspiracy ... Our rivals are succeeding in their unholy intentions for now but we will keep fighting," Soren said.
The ED has said it is investigating several other opposition leaders including ministers from the national capital territory of Delhi.
Officials at the ED did not respond to questions about Soren and other cases.
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not comment on the individual cases, but denied any political interference and said investigations were justified.
"Exposing corruption is our duty towards India," Pratul Shah Deo, a BJP spokesperson in Jharkhand, said.
The ED has sent several summons to the chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, linked to an investigation into alleged corruption in the granting of liquor licences.
Two of Kejriwal's ministerial colleagues in the INDIA alliance's Aam Aadmi Party have been detained for months pending trial over the same investigation. All three deny any wrongdoing.
Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said anyone who questions the BJP goes to jail.
"Those who do not stop, do not bow down, do not get suppressed, do not fear - they will go to jail one by one," he said.
Last year, 14 opposition parties led by the Congress party asked the Supreme Court to rein in what they said was the use of federal agencies to target opponents of the ruling party. The court dismissed the case.
"The way the BJP government is attacking institutions by partnering with investigative agencies, it is a complete misuse of them," said Abhishek Singhvi, spokesman for the Congress party, which is a key member of the INDIA alliance.
(Additional reporting Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar and Sakshi Dayal in New Delhi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
