India: opposition rally after arrest of New Delhi leader
In India, the opposition demonstrates, ten days after the highly contested arrest of the chief minister of New Delhi. A large crowd gathered in the capital this Sunday at the call of the main opposition parties. As the elections begin on April 19, they have insisted that they will not be intimidated by legal attacks.
Supporters of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) during the meeting organized by the opposition in New Delhi, March 31, 2024. © Manish Swarup / AP
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With our correspondent in New Delhi,
Côme Bastin
Since the start of 2024, the Indian opposition has said it has been harassed like never before. Two chief ministers of opposition-ruled state were arrested without trial and the bank accounts of the Congress party were seized. Thus, opposition leaders in India gathered on Sunday with thousands of their supporters in the capital New Delhi to protest.
Aparna, 33, attended the rally with her husband. “
I was a political activist 5 years ago and I am becoming one again in the face of the emergency. We are all very worried about what is happening in
India
. In the middle of an election, the government would like to silence all of its political opponents. Meetings like this give me hope that India and Indians will continue to fight against this corrupt power,”
she says.
She wears the blue and yellow colors of the Aam Admi Party (AAP), at the head of the capital region New Delhi.
The arrest of its leader Arvind Kejriwal
, a political icon, is today at the heart of the speeches of all the parties who have come to demand his release and display their unity. Alongside the AAP, figures from the Congress party, the communists and the regional parties TMC or DMK followed one another to applause.
Today, tens of thousands of people from all walks of life joined #INDIAAlliance's Maharally at Delhi's Ramleela Maidan resolving to save democracy and defend the country's syncretic ethos from the fascist assault by the Modi regime. Demanding immediate release of all opposition… pic.twitter.com/EC7Fdm18zr
— CPIML Liberation (@cpimlliberation) March 31, 2024
“
Our leader is behind bars,
insists
Rajneesh Dahiya, AAP MP in the state of Punjab.
We must increase the number of gatherings to send a message to the country. Judicial agencies are now under the complete control of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and democracy in India is in great danger.
»
Disputes between the opposition parties, in particular the sharing of seats to form a coalition against Narendra Modi who is aiming for a third term, were swept under the rug this Sunday which brought together thousands of activists and citizens. The Prime Minister held a meeting in Uttar Pradesh, he is seen as the favorite in these elections.
Read alsoIndia: the BJP wants to seduce southern India during the national election campaign
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