The Aryavarth Express
Agency(New Delhi): The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction has launched a scathing critique against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of incarcerating opposition leaders due to apprehensions regarding the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. This allegation surfaced prominently in an editorial within ‘Saamana’, the party’s mouthpiece, especially in the aftermath of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s recent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The party’s critical stance also echoes sentiments expressed shortly after Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut compared Modi to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, further intensifying their critique of the Prime Minister’s actions. The editorial provocatively compares Modi to Kansa, a notorious character from the Mahabharata, suggesting that like Kansa who imprisoned those he feared, Modi is employing similar tactics against his political adversaries.
The piece draws a parallel between Modi’s alleged fear-driven incarcerations and historical instances of authoritarian rule, indicating a perceived regression to practices reminiscent of emperors like Aurangzeb, who either subdued opponents or eliminated them. It contends that the central government is exhibiting “Aurangzebi tendencies” by attempting to silence opposition voices across India.
The editorial sharply criticizes the approach of suppressing opposition, likening it to practices in countries like China and Russia, where opposition leaders face fatal consequences or vanish. However, it notes that in India, the strategy involves implicating opposition figures in fabricated cases, leading to their prolonged incarceration.
Highlighting the disproportionate targeting of opposition leaders by central agencies since 2014, the Shiv Sena (UBT) claims that 95% of the cases pursued by these agencies have been against opposition members. The party alleges that the BJP is exploiting these agencies to decimate its political rivals and bolster its own resources.
This aggressive stance from the Shiv Sena (UBT) comes in the wake of Kejriwal’s arrest related to an excise policy-linked money laundering case, marking the first arrest of a sitting chief minister in such a context. This event has evidently galvanized opposition factions and sparked renewed debate over the politicization of central agencies amidst the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.
