Sri Vijaya Puram: In a sharp political response to the arrest of former MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma, senior Congress leader and AICC in-charge for Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Manickam Tagore, has strongly condemned the action, calling it “harassment” orchestrated by the BJP and RSS.
Speaking after Sharma’s remand to judicial custody in connection with a multi-crore cooperative bank loan scam, Tagore accused the ruling political forces of using the police machinery to target opposition leaders. “Today, the Andaman police have arrested a Congress leader, former BCC President, and ex-MP of Andaman. This is nothing but harassment,” he said in a public statement.
Tagore alleged that the BJP and RSS are “not ready to fight political battles” in a democratic manner and are instead resorting to the misuse of law enforcement to suppress dissent. “They want to harass people from the political leadership. They are misusing the police,” he stated, adding that Congress will not back down from this fight.
He also rallied support for Kuldeep Rai Sharma, saying the party stands firmly with him. “We will fight it out, and we stand with Kuldeepji in this fight. We all know that he is a strong man and will be able to fight back also,” Tagore said.
In a show of solidarity, Tagore reiterated that the “entire Congress family” in Andaman and across the country stands behind Sharma during this difficult phase. “We all stand with our colleague who is fighting the RSS and the BJP’s misuse of the Andaman police,” he added.
The arrest of Sharma has ignited political tensions across the islands, with the Congress accusing the administration of selectively targeting opposition leaders. Meanwhile, police sources have maintained that the arrest is part of a legal process arising from financial irregularities in the cooperative banking sector.
As the case unfolds in court, with Sharma’s next hearing scheduled for July 30, political reactions are expected to intensify. The Congress party’s statement signals that the issue may now take on a broader national dimension, potentially fueling further debate over the role of law enforcement in political investigations.
