Amidst the ongoing political war over the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, 8 opposition parties have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging misuse of central investigative agencies. Significantly, Congress is not included in this letter signed by opposition leaders.

The signatories to the letter include BRS chief and Telangana CM Chandrasekhar Rao, JKNC chief Farooq Abdullah, AITC chief Mamata Banerjee, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Bihar Deputy CM and RJD chairperson Tejashwi Yadav and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav are involved.

The letter reads that India is still a democratic country and the blatant misuse of central agencies against members of the opposition shows that country has transitioned from a democracy to an autocracy.

It further said that after a prolonged witch-hunt, Manish Sisodia has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) without any evidence in connection with alleged irregularities. Out of the total number of prominent politicians booked, arrested, raided or interrogated by investigative agencies under the U.S., the maximum number are from the opposition. It further said that interestingly, the number of opposition politicians who joined the BJP The cases against are slow going.

Opposition leaders cited the example of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was under the scanner of the CBI and ED over the Saradha chit fund scam in 2014 and 2015 when he was with the Congress. The letter read, “The matter did not proceed further after Sarma joined the BJP. Similarly, former TMC (Trinamool Congress) leaders Shubhendu Adhikari and Mukul Roy were under ED and CBI probe in the Narada sting operation case, but There has been no progress in their cases since they joined the BJP.

It further read that since 2014, there has been a significant increase in the number of raids, cases registered and arrests against opposition leaders. Be it Lalu Prasad Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal ), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena), Azam Khan (Samajwadi Party), Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh (NCP), Abhishek Banerjee (TMC). Arrests in many such reported cases have taken place at the time of elections, making it clear that it has always been politically motivated.

For the unversed, the Gandhi family is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged money laundering related to the acquisition of Associated Journals Limited of Young Indian, the company that runs the National Herald newspaper. The ED had questioned both Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi last year.

Manish Sisodia’s arrest

Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister was arrested on charges of alleged corruption in framing the liquor policy for Delhi. The BJP rejected the Aam Aadmi Party’s argument of political vendetta, saying even if he is the education minister who has done some work to improve schools, he cannot use it as a cover and hide behind corruption. may indulge in.

However, the Aam Aadmi Party has told a fake news has been fabricated by the BJP to tarnish the image of Delhi’s ruling party. At the same time, central agencies have said over the years that they do not arrest people on false charges and release them only if they are found not guilty after a thorough investigation, irrespective of their political background.

India on Saturday logged 334 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the active caseload to 2,686. This is the highest number of cases recorded in a single day in almost 100 days, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Affairs.

According to the Health Ministry, the country also logged three death fatalities- two reported in Maharashtra and one in Kerala, in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,30,775.

The national Covid-19 recovery stood at 98.80 percent while the fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 percent.

According to the ministry’s website, 220.64 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

The Centre on Saturday issued an advisory due to the rise in flu cases with Covid-like symptoms. The advisory suggests a list of dos and don’ts for people to follow to protect themselves from contracting the flu, which has Covid-like symptoms.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said the rise in flu cases is due to the Influenza A subtype H3N2 virus in which the fever goes away at the end of three days but the cough can persist for up to three weeks. It has advised against the indiscriminate use of antibiotics.

The ICMR has advised people to wash their hands regularly with soap and water, should wear face masks, and avoid going to crowded places.

The largest medical research body also advised people to take paracetamol in case of fever and body ache. The ICMR has said antibiotics and other medicines should only be taken after consulting a doctor.

The Delhi Police on Saturday filed a complaint against the government school for installing a banner saying ‘I Love Manish Sisodia’ at the school’s main gate amid a CBI probe on former Deputy Chief Minister in an alleged liquor policy scam.

The banners were allegedly put up on Friday at a Delhi government school in the northeast Shastri Park area. The School Management Committee (SMC) Coordinator Gazala along with the school principal got the banner fixed on the school gate. Following this, the local residents started protesting against the installment of banners and filed a police complaint.

The Shastri Park Police Station has registered a case against the Delhi school under Section 3 of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act on the basis of the complaint lodged by the local resident named Diwakar Pandey.

Pandey in a complaint said that some of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers were putting up a banner above the gate of the government school in Shastri Park on March 3, between 8-8.30 am. First, they took out a desk from the school. Brought it outside and climbed on it and started putting a poster of ‘I love Manish Sisodia’ on the gate, to which people objected and said that this is a temple of education, keep it away from politics, he added.

He further said they even asked the workers if they had permission which they claimed to be related to MLA Abdul Rehman. After this, a person contacted the MLA and asked him if he had given permission and the MLA replied with a yes. He said they know the MLA is lying as such permission is never given for a school to be used for some political gains, Pandey added.

The banner was, however, removed after people protested. The police have registered a case taking cognizance and assured that the culprits will be punished.

The AAP leader Manish Sisodia has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with his alleged involvement in the liquor policy scam. Manish Sisodia had on Friday filed a bail plea in Rouse Avenue Court after the SC refused to intervene in the matter. The hearing will take place on March 10.