Several members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) faced detainment, and many, including the party’s MLAs and councillors, were subjected to house arrest on Friday during their protests outside the BJP headquarters. Delhi Police stated that the volunteers were detained en route to participating in the protest.
The police reported detaining over 25 leaders at the Singhu border as they protested the BJP’s alleged malpractices in the Chandigarh mayoral polls. A video shared by news agency ANI depicted the AAP Haryana chief, Sushil Gupta, being apprehended by Delhi Police on his way to join the party’s protest at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.
Simultaneously, heightened security measures were implemented in various parts of Delhi, with police barricading roads leading to the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg and deploying additional personnel. The BJP staged a counter-demonstration near the AAP office, accusing the Arvind Kejriwal government of corruption. BJP workers vociferously criticized Chief Minister Kejriwal and called for his resignation.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed, “Kejriwal government has become synonymous with corruption. Every day a government scam is exposed before the people,” alleging a scam in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) under the Kejriwal government’s patronage.
Gopal Rai, an AAP leader, asserted that party MLAs and councillors were “placed under house arrest ahead of the protest.” He stated, “The way BJP has been exposed in Chandigarh and the way they conspired, we are protesting against them today. The house arrest of party MLAs and councillors before the peaceful protest indicates that the BJP is trying to conceal its true face from the public.”
In response, Chief Minister Kejriwal expressed his concerns on social media, stating, “First, votes were stolen in the Chandigarh mayoral elections. Now, people coming to protest peacefully against this are being stopped at various places across Delhi.” He further questioned the detainment of elected MLAs, councillors, and volunteers, emphasizing, “What is going on?”
On Tuesday, the BJP secured victory in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, retaining all three positions of mayor, senior deputy mayor, and deputy mayor. This outcome dealt a setback to the Congress-AAP alliance, which had alleged tampering with ballot papers by the presiding officer.
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