AAP leader Gopal Rai declared on Friday that the party would stage a protest against the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at Shaheedi Park near the income tax office in New Delhi the following day. Rai emphasized that all AAP MLAs, councilors, functionaries, and partners of the opposition INDIA bloc would convene at the park at 10 am.
“We will take an oath to save the country from becoming a dictatorship,” stated the senior AAP leader during a press briefing.
Rai further outlined plans, stating that “all people of Delhi” would gather at the Prime Minister’s residence for a ‘gherao’.
“Today, protests were held across the country against the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. Tomorrow is Martyrs’ Day, and all our ministers, MLAs, MLCs, and workers will gather at Shaheedi Park. We also appeal to the INDIA bloc leaders to join us there at 10 am tomorrow and take a pledge to save the country from dictatorship,” Rai later informed PTI.
“On March 24, we will burn effigies to mark our protest. On March 25, we have suspended all our Holi events. On March 26, the entire Delhi will march towards the PM house,” he added.
In response, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari dismissed Rai’s statement, questioning, “If no one has come today, then who is going to come after 2-4 days?” He added, “The people of Delhi are not even discussing them.”
Also read: After Kejriwal’s Arrest, Punjab BJP Chief Demands ED Probe Into State’s Excise Policy
The Enforcement Directorate’s arrest of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday evening in a money laundering probe linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy case had stirred controversy. A trial court remanded Kejriwal to six-day ED custody after he was produced around 2 pm amidst tight security.
The central agency, which probes economic crimes, asserted that Kejriwal was a “key conspirator” in the alleged excise policy scam and sought his 10-day custody.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, remarked that this was the first instance in India’s history of a sitting chief minister being arrested.
“Please don’t look at remand as a routine exercise… it requires the application of significant judicial mind… larger issues of democracy involved,” Singhvi emphasized.
Meanwhile, Delhi cabinet ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj were detained on Friday as AAP leaders staged a protest against the BJP. The two ministers and others were taken away in police buses after they refused to disperse from Central Delhi’s ITO intersection, which is near the headquarters of the AAP and the BJP. Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure were in force. AAP supporters raised slogans against the BJP-led central government and demanded the release of their detained leaders.
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