NEW DELHI (AP) — An alliance of India’s opposition parties launched its election marketing campaign with an enormous rally Sunday that criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of stifling opponents and undermining democracy forward of a national election subsequent month.

The “Save Democracy” rally in New Delhi was the primary main present of energy by the opposition bloc INDIA. Modi on Sunday additionally launched a proper marketing campaign for the election to be held over six weeks starting April 19.

Opposition leaders spoke to the flag-waving crowd and criticized Modi’s authorities for arresting a number of of their colleagues, together with New Delhi’s high elected official Arvind Kejriwal on March 21. The leaders referred to as the arrests undemocratic and accused Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, of utilizing federal businesses to undermine the opposition.

Kejriwal was arrested by the federal Enforcement Directorate on expenses that his social gathering and state ministers had accepted 1 billion rupees ($12 million) in bribes from liquor contractors practically two years in the past. The Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man’s Party, denied the accusations and stated that Kejriwal would stay as New Delhi’s chief minister whereas the court docket decides on the subsequent step.

In January, the company arrested Hemant Soren — till then the chief minister of jap Jharkhand state — for allegedly facilitating an unlawful land sale. Soren’s social gathering denies the fees.

“This battle is to safeguard the nation, democracy, constitution, future of the nation, youth, farmers and women. This battle is for justice and truth,” Deepender Singh Hooda, a lawmaker of the opposition Congress social gathering, informed reporters on the rally.

Kejriwal’s arrest is seen as a setback for the opposition bloc that’s the predominant challenger of the BJP within the elections.

The BJP denies focusing on the opposition and says regulation enforcement businesses act independently.

“Narendra Modi wants to strangle democracy and take away the option from the people to choose the government of their choice,” opposition chief Rahul Gandhi from the Congress social gathering, who took half in Sunday’s rally, wrote on X.

Modi kicked off his marketing campaign for a 3rd time period from town of Meerut, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of New Delhi.

Modi stated the opposition was uneasy due to the administration’s crackdown on corruption. “While Modi’s mantra is to eradicate corruption, their (opposition parties) credo is protect the corrupt,” he stated.