A regional Opposition party from Assam on Friday, protesting against the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, urged the masses to unite against
the “attempts” by the Narendra Modi-led central government to “murder” democracy and “undermine” the Constitution.

Raijor Dal, part of the United Opposition Forum in Assam, had staged peaceful protests at several places, in the state, including Guwahati and Sivasagar, seeking the unconditional release of Kejriwal in the liquor scam case on Thursday.

Raijor Dal’s working president Bhasco De Saikia said at the protest site in Guwahati that the “illegal” arrest of Kejriwal and Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and the freezing of the bank accounts of the Congress, the “principal” Opposition party by the BJP-led central government before the general elections proved the country was witnessing an “undeclared emergency”.

Saikia then issued an appeal. “It is Raijor Dal’s plea. We want the people of the country to come together and mobilise opinion against the attempts by the Narendra Modi-led government to murder democracy and undermine the Constitution and give a fitting reply to the BJP-led government in the upcoming general elections,” he said.

The Congress, too, offered support to the AAP.

In Tezpur, after filing the nomination of the Congress candidate, Assam PCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah said they were in touch with the AAP’s state leadership
on behalf of the Opposition India bloc.

Borah said: “Whether he (Kejriwal) is in jail or out, the INDIA bloc will continue to fight against the ruling dispensation together. We will hit the streets and also move the courts for Kejriwal and Hemant Soren ji. Both were arrested because the ruling dispensation does not want important Opposition leaders to meet the people before the general elections and expose their misrule.”

The state AAP unit also staged protests in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Tezpur, Nagaon and Jorhat against the arrest of their leader.

In Guwahati, they were prevented from taking out a procession to the BJP office after they marched for chief intense sloganeering.

In Dibrugarh, the state AAP president and other senior leaders were detained for a few hours.