NEW DELHI: A day after the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a nine-member delegation of the INDIA bloc approached the Election Commission of India seeking urgent intervention into the ‘blatant’ use of central agencies against the Opposition.The delegation included Congress MPs K C Venugopal and Abhishek Singhvi, TMC MPs Derek O’Brien and Nadimul Haque, AAP MP Sandeep Pathak, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury and DMK’s P Wilson, among others.In its memorandum, the parties said that to ensure a level playing field, the ECI must set up a committee and issue a circular ensuring that any raids, investigations, and arrests are first vetted and approved by it.The parties suggested that immediate action should be taken including the launch of investigations against individuals and officers who have misused their offices to harass the leaders of the opposition.“It is our submission that free and fair elections are not possible in an atmosphere of threats, and extortion. The Commission must take steps to halt this brazen misuse of the official machinery. This electoral process will have lost all sanctity if the Commission is unable to ensure a level playing field,” it said.
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