Why did it take 24 hours for Congress to condemn Sanjay Singh's arrest?

New Delhi: The Congress finally condemned the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh on Thursday evening, nearly 24 hours after the lawmaker was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi excise policy case.

The official reaction by Congress general secretary in charge of organisation KC Venugopal seemed to have been issued after due deliberations. In his statement, he attacked the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for indulging in vendetta politics

"Sanjay Singh ji's arrest by the ED takes the BJP's vendetta politics to another level. We stand in complete solidarity with him and reject the use of law enforcement agencies to settle political scores," he tweeted.

AAP MP Sh. @SanjayAzadSln ji's arrest by the ED takes the BJP's vendetta politics to another level.

We stand in complete solidarity with him and reject the use of law enforcement agencies to settle political scores.

For this reason, we also oppose the arrests of All India…

— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) October 5, 2023

Venugopal also linked the ED action against Sanjay Singh with the arrests of Punjab Congress leaders Sukhpal Singh Khaira and OP Saini by the AAP government. He condemned the arrests by the Punjab Police.

"Democratic principles of a fair trial and authorities acting within the boundaries of the Constitution are non-negotiable. We cannot become those we oppose," Venugopal said.

Initially, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and party general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala reacted to Sanjay Singh's arrest in their personal capacity. The official response didn't come the whole day on Thursday.

It left the Congress isolated in the INDIA bloc as all other parties in the grouping came out in support of the AAP.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar even claimed that Sanjay Singh's arrest would further consolidate the INDIA bloc.

The Congress was visibly upset with the AAP government's actions against its leaders in Punjab.

It seems some INDIA grouping members prevailed upon the Congress to issue a statement on Sanjay Singh's arrest to send a message of unity.

The silence of the Congress was music to the BJP's ears.

In fact, the top Congress leadership, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, continue to maintain stoic silence on the issue.