Critics say Modi and his party have weaponised investigative agencies and tax authorities to cull political opponents
\n NEW DELHI
\nIndian opposition parties united on Sunday to protest against the arrest of a prominent leader weeks before a national election, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party of rigging the vote and harassing them with large tax demands.
\n\u201cNarendra Modi is trying match-fixing in this election,\u201d Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi told a New Delhi rally as the crowd chanted \u201cShame!\u201d
\nDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a staunch Modi critic, anti-corruption crusader and a high-profile leader of the 27-member \u201cINDIA\u201d opposition bloc, was arrested on March 21 for alleged graft over granting liquor licenses, less than a month before voting starts in a general election widely expected to solidify Modi\u2019s mandate with a rare third term.
\nKejriwal\u2019s Aam Aadmi Party says the case is fabricated and politically motivated. Modi\u2019s government and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deny political interference and say law enforcement agencies are doing their job.
\n\u201cIf the BJP wins this match-fixing election and changes the constitution, it will light the country on fire,\u201d said Gandhi, whose party ruled India for more than two-thirds of the time since independence in 1947 but has struggled since Modi swept to power a decade ago.
\n\u201cThis is not an ordinary election. This election is to save the country, protect our constitution.\u201d
\nSharing the stage with Gandhi at the popular Ramlila Maidan gathering site were opposition leaders including regional party heads who have overcome differences over which party would contest which seats.
\nBJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told a news conference that the opposition rally, attended by thousands, was meant to hide their acts of corruption. Congress, besides struggling with detentions and raids by India\u2019s financial crime-fighting agency, says it faces \u201ctax terrorism\u201d from large tax demands by the government and the freezing of some of its bank accounts, all of which it calls attempts to financially cripple the party.
\nCritics say Modi and his party have weaponised investigative agencies and tax authorities to cull political opponents and reduce the chances of a fair election, an accusation the BJP denies.
\n\u201cThis fascism will not work in India,\u201d Kejriwal\u2019s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, told the rally. \u201cWe will fight and we will win.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Critics say Modi and his party have weaponised investigative agencies and tax authorities to cull political opponents NEW DELHI Indian opposition parties united on Sunday to protest against the arrest of a prominent leader weeks before a national election, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party of rigging the vote and harassing them with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-397638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n