New Delhi, March 16 (NationPress) Congress Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Manu Singhvi characterized the excise policy case against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal as "regrettable," asserting that the extent of investigative agency misuse seen in recent times is unprecedented. He raised concerns about the prevalence of politically-sensitive cases targeting Opposition leaders.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, Singhvi expressed his deep unease, noting that over the last several years, he has represented leaders from various political parties.

"In the past 5 to 7 years, I have represented leaders from nearly all political factions. It is truly unfortunate that we are witnessing such blatant and unrestrained misuse, which is not confined solely to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)," he remarked.

He pointed out that whether it concerns the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, Income Tax Department, or other agencies, the level of misuse by a government has reached unprecedented levels.

Singhvi specifically addressed the PMLA cases, questioning why the majority of politically sensitive matters appear to implicate Opposition leaders.

"For instance, if there are 100 total PMLA cases—just an example—imagine only 10 of them have any political aspect, yet 9.5 of those are against the Opposition. Why is this so? We still lack a satisfactory explanation for this situation. Instead, the focus shifts to the remaining 90 cases, which generally pertain to business," he stated.

In discussing the cases related to Kejriwal, Singhvi noted that he has also represented other AAP figures like Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh in similar contexts.

"I have dealt with cases involving Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh as well. Let me highlight two important aspects of Kejriwal's situation. I cannot delve into every detail due to time constraints, but the CBI had summoned him in 2021 or 2022. From 2022 to 2024, they did not call him again," Singhvi stated.

"Then, abruptly in 2024, the ED detained him. In 2021–2022, he was called for questioning, but there was no urgency to arrest him. An arrest is one thing—he wasn't even summoned again," he emphasized.

When questioned about the state of political alliances between Congress and AAP, Singhvi remarked that alliances can differ based on political dynamics, varying at state and national levels.

"Currently, there is no alliance in place. This is quite typical in politics. It's also possible to oppose a regional party at the state level while collaborating at the national level," he explained.

"The Congress party has engaged in such strategies multiple times, and so have the Left parties. Similarly, the Janata Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party have contested against each other at the state level while cooperating nationally," Singhvi concluded.