Centre has unleashed its agencies to suppress INDIA bloc ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls: AAP

New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) The AAP on Friday claimed the BJP is afraid of losing to the opposition INDIA bloc in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the party’s government at the Centre has unleashed all its agencies to suppress the alliance.

Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi said that ever since there have been talks of different opposition parties coming together, leaders of the alliance have faced raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

She shared a list of names of such leaders, including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“In the last week, the action by these agencies has intensified. First, it was the journalists who were raided and their mobiles and laptops were taken away as they had been raising their voice against the rise of unemployment under the Modi government.

“Then it was TMC leader Mahua Moitra who was dragged by Delhi Police after she reached Krishi Bhawan for raising her voice. Then Sanjay Singh was arrested,” Atishi said.

“The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are rattled by the INDIA alliance. They know that they will lose the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to the INDIA alliance. They have unleashed all their agencies to trouble the leaders of the alliance and suppress the voice of the bloc,” she alleged.

Delhi Police arrested NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and human resources head Amit Chakravarty on Tuesday after searching nearly 50 locations and questioning several journalists in connection with the case filed under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), following allegations that the portal received money to spread pro-China propaganda.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh was arrested by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Wednesday evening after day-long questioning in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case.

Atishi said the BJP is a “washing machine” that washes away “sins” of those who join the party.

“We all know that how the BJP works. It threatens opposition leaders using the ED and the CBI, and offers them a chance to join the BJP. The BJP is a washing machine and we have seen how it works. Himanta Biswa Sarma and Ajit Pawar are examples of this.”