National Opinion Politics

Opinion | Do We Deserve a Democracy?

This is no longer about one case. It is about the pattern. In 2023 and early 2024, just before the general election, Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were arrested in the Delhi excise policy case. A sitting Chief Minister and a former Deputy Chief Minister were sent to jail as the country prepared to vote. The charge was corruption and criminal conspiracy at the highest level.

The investigation involved the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate. Raids. Arrests. Custody. Headlines day after day. For any opposition party, this is not just a legal battle. It is pressure designed to break leadership, drain resources, and damage credibility before an election.

On February 27, 2026, the Rouse Avenue Court discharged them and 21 others. The court said there was no overarching conspiracy. No criminal intent. No recovery of alleged kickbacks. It pointed out contradictions in the prosecution case and made it clear that suspicion cannot replace evidence. The matter did not even meet the threshold to proceed to trial.

So what happened to the damage already done?

Months in jail. Public branding as corrupt. An election fought with top leaders behind bars. When enforcement agencies are repeatedly deployed against opposition figures before crucial polls, and cases later collapse or weaken in court, people are bound to question whether this is justice or strategy. Using state machinery to corner rivals, to mentally and physically exhaust them, to send a message to others, is how authoritarian systems operate.

Democracy is not just about voting day. It is about fairness before voting day.

If we normalize unfair political arrests, if we accept the routine misuse of agencies, if we stay silent when power is used to oppress political opponents, then we are not just spectators. We are participants.

How easy we surrender our rights and give up our freedom. Do we deserve a democracy?

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