Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Monday joined the league of heads of several non-BJPruled states in criticising the arrest of Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and viewing it as the Centre’s attempt to silence the Opposition.

“We all know what has happened (the arrest of AAP leader Manish Sisodia) and what has been happening in the country. I can only say that what has happened is not good for democracy in the country,” Soren told reporters outside the Jharkhand Assembly after the inaugural day of the budget session in Ranchi.

Earlier in the day, Soren tweeted: “The arrest of Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia is disappointing and disheartening. This is yet another brazen attempt to attack and suppress voices of democratically elected state governments which are working hard for people especially the marginalised and their issues.”

Sisodia was arrested on Sunday after eight hours of questioning by the CBI in relation to the Delhi Excise Policy (2021-22).

On Monday, Sisodia was sent to a five-day CBI custody.

Soren had on several occasions in the past accused the BJP-led central government of using federal agencies like the CBI, income tax department, and the Enforcement Directorate against the leaders of Opposition-ruled states, including Jharkhand.

After being summoned by the ED in November last year in connection with an alleged mining scam and money-laundering charges, Soren had questioned the way the ED was conducting the probe.

On his way to the ED office in Ranchi on November 17, the JMM leader had said the alleged scam was “part of a larger conspiracy by the BJP’s central government to destabilise” his government.

He had said that the Union government “will soon go after more leaders from Opposition-ruled states”.

He had urged the ED to refrain from making “sensational statements” on illegal mining “without ascertaining the facts and figures”.