Does Arvind Kerjriwal’s arrest signal strained democracy in India?

Concerns over democracy and autocracy

The timing of Kejriwal’s arrest, just weeks before the Lok Sabha elections, has raised serious concerns about the integrity of the electoral process and the state of Indian democracy. The V-Democracy Report 2024 has already flagged India as becoming increasingly autocratic under the Modi government.

The report’s findings seem to be validated by Kejriwal’s arrest, as well as the recent freezing of the Congress party’s bank accounts and the alleged use of central agencies to target opposition leaders.

These actions have fueled fears that the ruling BJP is systematically undermining its political opponents, raising questions about the fairness of the upcoming elections and the future of Indian democracy.

If the Modi government secures a third term, critics warn that India could be on a slippery slope towards autocracy and one-party rule, similar to the systems in Russia and China. The crackdown on opposition leaders, coupled with the capture of key institutions and the alleged extortion of companies, paints a bleak picture of a democracy in decline.

While it remains unclear whether Kejriwal is indeed culpable in the excise policy case, his arrest as a sitting Chief Minister has set a dangerous precedent. It has raised doubts about the impartiality of investigative agencies and the rule of law, further fueling concerns about the BJP’s alleged attempts to eliminate all opposition and establish a de facto one-party state.

With this damning backdrop, Kejriwal’s arrest takes on far graver significance than a routine corruption probe by federal agencies. Coming barely a month before national elections, it feeds into fears that the Modi government is bent on decimating the opposition by any means necessary to entrench its long-term dominance.

Politically calculated moves for crushing opposition

Critics allege the excise policy case reeks of selective prosecution. If the policy was indeed rotten with quid pro quo corruption, surely all beneficiaries should have faced equal investigative zeal? However, only AAP leaders have been arrested while corporate entities from the ‘South lobby’ remain relatively unscathed.

More damningly, Hyderabad-based businessman Sarath Chandra Reddy of Aurobindo Pharma, a key ‘approver’ in the ED’s case, donated a staggering Rs 30 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds soon after his arrest and granting of bail.

It implies a clear conflict of interest and ulterior motives behind the agency’s single-minded pursuit of the AAP leadership.

International Media on illegal arrest of CM Arvind Kejriwal

“He’s a Very Popular Chief Minister, who founded the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), also known as the Common Man’s Party. He enjoyed an overwhelming majority in Delhi, but he has since been arrested and placed in jail.” pic.twitter.com/fI9f2bzMLm

— Dr Ranjan (@AAPforNewIndia) April 2, 2024

The V-Dem report’s damning conclusion – that a third consecutive Modi term would potentially make Indian democracy’s regression towards authoritarianism ‘irreversible’ – suddenly appears all too plausible.

Kejriwal’s fate has emerged as a litmus test for whether the world’s largest democracy can still self-correct its democratic regression.

India’s democratic future likely hinges on whether this operational code can still be disrupted, or whether the die is already cast towards inevitable elected autocracy under the weight of the Modi juggernaut.

Kejriwal’s defiant vow to continue governance from jail may be a mere symbolic speed bump in a road already determined. Only time will tell.