A high Indian opposition chief will stay in custody for 2 extra weeks, following his arrest by the federal monetary crime-fighting company.

The extension of his detention comes regardless of protests from opposition events who declare it’s a part of a crackdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his rivals forward of the nation’s April 19 nationwide elections.

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief of the Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man’s Party, is the highest elected official within the metropolis of New Delhi and has been an influential politician for the previous decade. Kejriwal is accused of accepting $12 million in bribes from liquor contractors round 2 years in the past. The AAP has denied the accusations.

“These people have only one aim, they want to put him in prison during the elections,” Kejriwal’s spouse, Sunita, instructed reporters, referring to Modi’s authorities. “The people will give a response to this dictatorship.”

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Opposition events allege the federal government is exploiting federal companies to focus on political rivals, citing a sample of raids, arrests, and corruption probes. They argue this undermines truthful competitors in elections, a declare denied by Modi’s authorities.

Kejriwal has denied the allegations towards him and accused the directorate of “manipulating investigative agencies for political motives.”

Kejriwal additionally has referred to as his arrest “a political conspiracy.”

The detention determination got here shortly after a New Delhi rally organized by the INDIA bloc, comprising 27 opposition events together with AAP, protesting Kejriwal’s arrest and accusing Modi of making an attempt to rig the election.

However, the federal government’s authorized illustration within the case mentioned that Kejriwal’s “conduct has been totally non-cooperative” and that he might doubtlessly be put in custody following extra investigations.

This marks the primary occasion of a chief minister in India being arrested whereas in workplace.

Some data for this report was offered by Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.