On Monday, an Indian court sentenced Delhi chief minister and prominent opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal to jail until April 15 in a liquor fraud case, local media reported, less than three weeks before the country’s national elections.
Kejriwal was detained by India’s financial crime-fighting agency on corruption suspicions relating to the city’s liquor policy and was put in detention until April 1.
Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claims he was “falsely arrested” in a “fabricated” case, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and Bharatiya Janata Party deny any political involvement.
Lawyers for the agency claimed on Monday that Kejriwal had been “non-cooperative” and was “giving evasive replies” and urged the court to keep him in judicial detention for 15 days, according to news website Live Law.
Kejriwal attacked Modi for the arrest.
“What the prime minister is doing is not good for the country,” he told reporters as he walked to court.
Prior to Kejriwal’s arrest, all AAP key leaders had previously been imprisoned in the same corruption case.
Last week, the move against the high-profile politician provoked protests in the city and the northern province of Punjab, which is also led by his party.
The court’s ruling comes a day after the INDIA bloc, a coalition of 27 opposition parties including the AAP, held a demonstration in New Delhi to protest Kejriwal’s incarceration and accuse Modi of rigging the elections.
Aside from the AAP, numerous other opposition parties, including regional groupings, are facing “politically motivated” action from government authorities.
The country’s major opposition Congress party claims it has received huge income tax requests in an attempt to “cripple it financially” before the elections.
Modi and the BJP have disputed the charges.
Kejriwal’s detention has also drew international attention, with the United States and Germany calling for a “fair” and “impartial” trial, prompting New Delhi to vehemently oppose, requesting that they keep out of its “internal” affairs.
