India opposition protests in capital over Kejriwal’s arrest before election

Rally held against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over a long-running corruption probe ahead of general election.

Top leaders of India’s opposition coalition and thousands of supporters have rallied in the capital, decrying “autocracy” in protest against the arrest of a senior colleague ahead of the general election.

Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi and a key leader in an opposition alliance formed to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was arrested and jailed earlier in March in connection with a long-running corruption probe.

Kejriwal’s government is accused of receiving kickbacks while handing out liquor licences to private companies. A court on Thursday extended Kejriwal’s custody until April 1.

Kejriwal, 55, denies the charges. His Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) says the liquor policy case is fabricated and politically motivated.

India’s main financial investigation agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which arrested Kejriwal, has launched probes into at least four other state chief ministers or their family members.

Almost all the investigations involve political opponents of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In January, Hemant Soren, chief minister of the eastern state of Jharkhand, was arrested over corruption charges.

Several leaders of the two dozen political parties of the INDIA opposition alliance – the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance – addressed the rally on Sunday.

“The country is headed towards autocracy,” Shiv Sena party leader Uddhav Thackeray, a former chief minister of Maharashtra state, told the flag-waving crowd, with many holding up posters showing Kejriwal behind bars as a large numbers of police officers watching.

“This one-man government is