Probe agencies misused in last 10 yrs against political opponents: Cong

New Delhi: On a day the Supreme Court granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Congress on Friday alleged that probe agencies have been misused in the last 10 years for targeting political opponents.

The Congress said despite the misuse of the probe agencies, the people have given the BJP a befitting reply by bringing it down to 240 seats in the Lok Sabha.

The opposition party’s remarks came after the Supreme Court granted bail to Kejriwal in the corruption case lodged by the CBI in connection with the excise policy ‘scam’, saying prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan granted the relief to Kejriwal on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh and two sureties of like amount.

NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday said the bail granted to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal proves that the foundation of democracy in the country is still strong.

“The bail granted to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal makes one thing clear that the foundation of democracy in the country is still strong. The long fight has ended with the victory of truth,” Pawar said in a post on X.

Left parties and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) also welcomed the Supreme Court order granting bail to Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, and accused the BJP government of misusing central agencies to target opposition leaders.

While welcoming the bail order, Communist Party of India General Secretary D Raja said it remains to be seen how the bail conditions can be upheld constitutionally.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday hailed as “victory of Constitution” the bail granted to Kejriwal by the SC. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also described Kejriwal as “popular and pro-public welfare” CM and slammed the BJP for being “against the Constitution” and “misusing” it.

Kejriwal, who was arrested by the ED in the excise policy case on March 21, was granted interim bail on May 10 for campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls and has been in jail since June 2 when he surrendered.

The top court directed Kejriwal not to make any public comment on the merits of the case and added that terms and conditions as imposed in the ED case would also be applicable here.

The SC, while granting him bail in the ED case, had said Kejriwal cannot visit his office or the Delhi Secretariat and not sign any official file unless absolutely necessary to obtain the Lieutenant Governor’s sanction. It said completion of trial was unlikely to occur in the immediate future and rejected the apprehension of tampering by Kejriwal.