In a scathing response to the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of resorting to dictatorial tactics to suppress dissent and destroy democracy in India.

“A scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy,” Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, without naming anyone.

Rahul Gandhi pointed to a pattern of alleged targeting of opposition leaders and institutions, including the media, in what he described as an assault on democratic principles.

“While capturing all the institutions including the media, breaking up the parties, extorting money from companies, freezing the account of the main opposition party was not enough for the ‘devilish power’, now the arrest of the elected Chief Ministers has also become a common thing,” the Congress leader said.

Gandhi asserted that the opposition INDIA bloc will give a befitting reply to this.

Also Read: Why was Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal arrested by ED? What’s liquor scam?

Several opposition leaders have condemned Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 excise policy case, which was scrapped later.

Opposition stalwart Sharad Pawar said that Kejriwal’s arrest showcased the depth to which the Bharatiya Janata Party will stoop for power.

“‘INDIA’ stands united against this unconstitutional action against Arvind Kejriwal,” Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said in a post on X.

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is an opposition bloc led by the Congress and includes the AAP and NCP (SP).

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the BJP wants to keep the opposition leader away from the public by any means as the party knows “it will not come to power again”.

“This arrest will give birth to a new people’s revolution,” Akhilesh Yadav said in Hindi on X.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the ruling BJP for what he characterised as a concerted effort to undermine the opposition and manipulate democratic processes ahead of the elections.

“The arrogant BJP, which makes false claims of victory every day, is trying to weaken the opposition by all means and illegal means before the elections,” Kharge asserted, echoing concerns raised by other opposition leaders.

“If there was real confidence of victory then the accounts of the main opposition party – Congress Party would not have been frozen by misusing the constitutional institutions,” he added.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury condemned the arrest saying Modi and the BJP are in “panic over people’s rejection in the ongoing elections.”

“All opposition leaders who defected and joined the BJP are protected and patronised. They are the ‘Satya Harishchandras’! These arrests will only cement people’s desire to defeat BJP, defend democracy and Indian Constitution.”