After a Delhi court discharged former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others accused in the liquor policy case, the Congress on Friday said that the proceedings against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “convenient allies” will “quietly fizzle out” ahead of elections in Gujarat and Punjab.

Assembly elections in both the states are expected to be held in 2027.

Congress leader Pawan Khera claimed that it was a “predictable script” of the “shape-shifting serpent” BJP.

The Opposition leader added: “It has only one obsessive goal, to defeat the Congress and create a Congress-free India.”

He also accused the ruling party of “turning vendetta into governance and using investigative agencies like electoral tools”.

Earlier in the day, a Delhi court discharged of corruption charges 23 persons accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the liquor policy case, including Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia.

The Rouse Avenue Courts held that there was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the excise policy. The court also criticised the CBI for implicating Kejriwal and Sisodia without any cogent material.

After Friday’s ruling, several Opposition parties accused the BJP of using central investigative agencies to target their leaders.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav called the court ruling a “moral death sentence” for the BJP.

“Today, in Delhi, both truth and justice stand alongside…Kejriwal,” Yadav said. “An accusation can never be so big as to obscure the truth…BJP supporters will be filled with shame.”

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale congratulated Kejriwal and Sisodia, while alleging the case was politically motivated with an aim of defaming Opposition leaders.

“Yet again, BJP’s shameless tactic of using CBI and [Enforcement Directorate] as their political tools stands exposed,” Gokhale said. “The [Prime Minister Narendra Modi-Home Minister Amit Shah government] will soon fall apart just like these fake cases.”

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also hailed Kerjiwal and Sisodia “for standing firm through it all and letting the truth speak for itself”.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief urged the BJP-led government not to “mortgage the integrity of investigating agencies for short-term politics”.

The BJP leaders, however, said that the matter could still face further legal scrutiny. In a press conference, party leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said that the court had acquitted Kejriwal due to lack of evidence, and said that this was a “technical matter”.

“The CBI will take the next step on this case,” he said. “As far as our party is concerned, we will give a structured response after studying the judgement in detail. One must think – if the charges were baseless, then how were the charges framed?”

The party’s media cell chief, Amit Malviya also said that “whether this judgement withstands scrutiny in higher courts remains to be seen”.

Also read: Lapses in probe, no proof: What court said while acquitting Kejriwal, Sisodia in excise policy case