The INDIA bloc on Sunday announced a rally at the Ramlila Maidan here on March 31 in support of arrested Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and for the protection of democracy.

At a news conference in the Constitution Club, Aam Aadmi Party, Congress and CPM leaders spoke out against the earlier arrest of Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren as well.

They reiterated that a defendant turned approver in the liquor policy case — in which several leaders of the AAP, including Kejriwal, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi are in jail — had donated money to the BJP through electoral bonds that protected the donor’s identity.

“The way the Prime Minister of the country, employing full authoritarianism, has killed democracy in this country by arresting Delhi CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal, the anger within all the people who love the Constitution, love democracy, who love the constitutional institutions of this country is palpable,” AAP Delhi convener Gopal Rai said.

“Before the arrest of Delhi’s CM, Shri Arvind Kejriwal, we have seen how the chief minister of Jharkhand was arrested there. We have seen that whether it is the chief minister of West Bengal, Smt. Mamata Banerjee, or Shri Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar, or leaders of the INDIA alliance in various regions of the country, fake cases are being filed against all of them, either attempting to silence them or imprisoning them.”

Rai, a minister in the Delhi government, added: “The same Sarath Chandra Reddy (the defendant turned approver), whom they arrested earlier, was later granted bail and then he deposited Rs 60 crore in the BJP’s account in the name of electoral bonds.

“The money trail has come out, but now will the CBI, ED and income tax say anything?... The BJP has received more than Rs 8,000 crore through electoral bonds. Meanwhile, they have frozen the Congress’s account so that the Congress cannot carry out its election campaign.”

Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Lovely said: “This (March 31) rally will send a message to the people of the entire country that our ancestors fought for freedom by making great sacrifices. We will not let go of their sacrifices in vain, by letting their (BJP’s) whims be successful.

“On one hand, you call India the ‘Mother of Democracy’ in the world. But when democracy in Hindustan is in danger, it puts a stain on India’s reputation in the world. We will not let these conspiracies put a stain on India’s reputation in the world.”

Rajiv Kunwar, a CPM Delhi state committee member, said: “They do not want to leave room for parties that believe in democracy and the rule of law. We will continue to fight for this.

“On Saturday, we went to various areas of Delhi to raise our voices against the arrest of Shri Arvind Kejriwal. All Left parties will gather in the rally to be held on March 31. Our top leaders will also come to the stage that day and stand with Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s family, Aam Aadmi Party, and the people of Delhi.”

On Saturday, the CPM protested in several parts of the capital against Kejriwal’s arrest. A CPI delegation, led by its general secretary D. Raja, met Kejriwal’s wife Sunita.

The AAP says Kejriwal will discharge his duties as chief minister from behind bars.

On Sunday, Kejriwal kept up a semblance of governance, issuing a routine written note to water minister Atishi to order the chief secretary and Delhi’s water utility to ensure the residents do not face any problems this summer.

Police prevented AAP and BJP activists from burning effigies, respectively, of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kejriwal in different parts of the city. Atishi led a candlelight vigil in Govindpuri, southeast Delhi.