New Delhi, Oct 4 (PTI) Several opposition leaders on Wednesday condemned the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh by the ED in the Delhi excise policy case and saying it was an attempt by a rattled BJP to silence the voice of a strong and emerging leader.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said he strongly condemns the arrest of Singh and accused the BJP of using the Enforcement Directorate as a political weapon against the opposition.

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"They have made ED their political weapon. Because Sanjay Singh speaks strongly in Rajya Sabha, he has been put behind bars in order to silence his voice. This is a predetermined plan to silence the voice of a strong and emerging leader," Digvijaya Singh said.

Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said the BJP leaders are scared and perturbed and that "they will take similar action here (in Bihar) as well."

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"Wherever the regional party is performing well, they are harassing the governments there," he said on Singh's arrest.

"Opposition leaders are facing continuous pressure. Sanjay Singh is a strong voice from the opposition parties in Rajya Sabha, and this arrest is an attempt to silence him," said Janata Dal (United) spokesperson KC Tyagi.

RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha said it is not the arrest of Sanjay Singh, but of the freedom of thought.

"Yesterday, it was 'NewsClick' and the journalists connected to it. Today, it's Sanjay Singh. Just look at some past incidents - like the release of the Bihar Caste Census report. The party (BJP) can't understand anything, they have to manage headlines and scare opposition leaders," Jha said.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said the Modi government must go for the sake of 'India that is Bharat'.

"Strongly condemn the outrageous arrest of AAP MP Sanjay Singh. ED under Modi routinely arrests political opponents on grounds of 'non cooperation' for not accepting their fabricated statements," Yechury said in a post on X.

"For the sake of 'India that is Bharat' Modi govt must go," he said.

AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal earlier said the ED raids at Singh's residence was the "last desperate attempt" of a party staring at defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.

"The arrest of Sanjay Singh is completely illegal. It shows Modi ji's frustration. He will arrest many more opposition leaders till the elections," said the Delhi Chief Minister.

"For the last one year, we have seen there is a cacophony surrounding an alleged 'liquor scam'. To date there hasn't been any recovery of money, more than a thousand such raids have been conducted and many people have been arrested," he said.

The ED Wednesday evening took into its custody Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh – the second high-profile AAP leader arrested in this case after Manish Sisodia.

Early this morning, ED officials swooped on Singh's official residence in North Avenue and conducted searches.

After a day-long questioning, Singh was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)