Top Leaders Jailed, Opposition Camp Sees The Rise Of The Spouses

The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and JMM's Hemant Soren has put their wives in the limelight. Sunita Kejriwal and Kalpana Soren have become important faces in the INDIA camp in the absence of their spouses during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, hinting that they are ready for larger political roles.

They joined other INDIA bloc leaders at a rally in Ranchi yesterday, which saw the opposition camp launch a fierce attack on the BJP for allegedly misusing central agencies to harass opposition-ruled states.

Two chairs were left empty on stage for Mr Kejriwal and Mr Soren - with their name tags on - as their spouses were seated on the dais.

The 'Ulgulan Nyay Mahrally', organised by the JMM amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, served as a major show of strength that saw the leaders of 28 political parties in attendance, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Tejashwi Yadav, Bhagwant Mann, and Akhilesh Yadav.

Sunita Kejriwal, lashing out at the government in her speech, alleged that her diabetic husband was being denied insulin in jail, a claim earlier made by the Aam Aadmi Party.

"They want to kill my husband Arvind Kejriwal. His food is under camera observation; he is denied insulin. My husband is a sugar patient who has been on insulin for the last 12 years; he needs 50 units of insulin daily," she said at the rally.

Claiming that no charges could be proved against her husband, she asserted that they will win their "fight against dictatorship". "The gates of jail will break and Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren will come out," asserted Ms Kejriwal.

Ms Soren also accused the BJP of trying to topple governments in states where opposition parties are in power, which she claimed led to the arrest of Mr Kejriwal and Mr Soren just before the elections.

At the rally, she also read out a message from her husband: "Central agencies such as the ED and CBI are being misused to suppress the opposition's voice but BJP and such forces will be driven out."

Mr Kejriwal was arrested last month by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the liquor policy scam. He remains the Chief Minister even after his arrest with the AAP asserting no law stops him from running the government from jail.

Mr Soren had resigned from the top post before his arrest in January by the ED in a laundering case linked to an alleged land fraud. JMM leader Champai Soren replaced him as the Chief Minister in February amid speculations that Ms Soren could take over her husband's post.