The World Briefly
April 02, 2024Sticks in the Wheels
India
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An Indian court on Monday jailed the capital’s mayor for two weeks for bribery, charges the opposition says are part of a crackdown on rivals by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of this month’s national election, the Associated Press reported.
New Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is one of India’s most influential politicians. On March 21, the federal financial investigation agency, the Enforcement Directorate, took him into custody, accusing him of receiving $12 million worth of bribes from liquor contractors.
After his 10-day custody period expired, the capital’s court sent him to judicial custody until April 15. The agency argued Kejriwal’s “conduct has been totally non-cooperative.”
Thousands of supporters of the opposition’s coalition – the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and includes the AAP – demonstrated in New Delhi over the weekend to protest the chief minister’s arrest, warning that India was headed toward “autocracy,” Al Jazeera reported. The Enforcement Directorate is under the authority of Modi’s branch of government.
The AAP said Kejriwal would remain chief minister during his court proceedings, adding he now has a right to apply for bail.
According to the agency, Kejriwal is the first sitting chief minister to be arrested. For the opposition, this marked the deepening of the so-called bullying campaign led by Modi against his opponents in the run-up to the general election starting on April 19.
In the past weeks, key opposition figures have been subjected to investigations, including members of the Gandhi family who used to lead the Congress party.
Last month, the Congress party had its bank accounts frozen amid a tax dispute and said the government was trying to cripple it. Tax authorities on Monday postponed the payment of the party’s $420 million penalty until after the election, Reuters reported.
In a few weeks, nearly a billion Indians will vote over a period of six weeks to elect a new parliament, in the world’s largest democratic exercise. Analysts predicted Modi would easily win another term thanks to his nationalist rhetoric appealing to India’s Hindu majority.
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