NEW DELHI, April 8 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) forced Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to resign and then arrested him within minutes of his resignation on 31 January 2024, under the draconian law - Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) - for alleged money laundering in a land scam. On 21 March, the ED arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal under the PMLA for suspected money laundering in the liquor policy case. The arrests were made amid the general election, scheduled for 19 April, the outcome of which will determine the next national government.

The IT Department, in an unprecedented move, froze the bank accounts of the principal opposition party, the Indian National Congress, for alleged violation of tax norms...