AAP writes to election panel, claims access to Delhi party office being blocked

AAP demands action against central agencies for blocking routes to party headquarters, accuses them of highhandedness. Police cite law & order concerns.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday wrote to the Election Commission of India demanding action against central government agencies, including the Delhi Police, for blocking all routes leading to the party’s headquarters on Rouse Avenue, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, ahead of Lok Sabha election preparations.

Police officers outside Shaheedi Park in New Delhi on Saturday. (Reuters)

AAP leaders on Saturday alleged that the agencies were behaving in a “highhanded manner” by first arresting Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and then barricading roads to the national party’s office even as the model code of conduct was in place, thereby preventing party functionaries as well as contesting candidates from entering their office. Senior leaders said that they will be lodging a formal complaint with the EC soon.

The letter, written by AAP secretary Pankaj Kumar Gupta, has sought an urgent appointment with the EC to apprise them of the situation.

“Today one of our MLAs, Gulab Singh of Matiala, was raided by central agencies (I-T). Also, all the routes of our office were closed/blocked by Delhi police today (Saturday) at noon and no one was allowed to go to the office despite requests. We fail to understand how a political party can fight elections under such a repressive environment. We urge you to take corrective action immediately and direct all the agencies to observe restraint while the MCC is in effect,” the letter said.

Responding to the allegations, senior police officers aware of the matter said that the party leaders and workers were not allowed to reach the AAP office as they had announced they would march to the office with hundreds of people even as Section 144 of the CrPC was still in force in the area.

The Delhi Police barricaded the approach roads to the AAP office on Rouse Avenue on Saturday afternoon and senior party leaders including Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj and Durgesh Pathak were not allowed to go towards the office. The leaders had to leave after the police refused to open the barricades.

Bhardwaj said that there have been complaints in the past couple of days that the police have been obstructing the movement of the AAP workers to the party office near ITO. He added that on Friday, the AAP head office was barricaded from all sides.

“AAP is a national party, and the leaders were denied entry to the national office of the party near ITO in Delhi. Today (Saturday) Atishi, Durgesh Pathak, Adil Khan and I were stopped from going to our ITO office. When Atishi asked the officer on duty under which law was stopping us from going to our own office, he had no answer. It is a clear case of bullying. Whatever the BJP-led central government is doing is beyond limits,” he said.

Giving another example, he said that after AAP leaders were denied entry to their office, they headed towards the official residence of Atishi, when a police officer identified them and asked them to stop near the Modern School flyover on Barakhamba Road, which is far away from the AAP head office (ITO).

“Once we descended from the flyover, we were stopped by a police officer as soon as he identified Atishi. This is when all the other vehicles were passing through without any checking. Only we were asked to stop. Can we not even go to our homes now? Do we need permission for that too?” Bharadwaj added.

He added that AAP will ask the ECI to conduct a neutral investigation as a constitutional institution.

“Despite representation made on Friday, the AAP office was sealed today (Saturday). Lok Sabha candidates and party leaders could not come to the party office for campaign meetings... It is the responsibility given by the Indian constitution to the ECI to ensure a level playing field,” posted Atishi on X (formerly Twitter).

“DDU Marg has vital installations including the Rouse Avenue court and is not a designated protest site, which is why a gathering of more than four people is prohibited. We were informed that the party leaders said they would march to the office, which is why they were stopped to maintain law and order,” said deputy commissioner of police (central) Harsha Vardhan.

The DCP added that police did not seal the AAP office. “No office has been sealed by us. There are many offices on DDU Marg, and people who work there are allowed to go,” he said adding that the barricades were removed shortly after the crowd dispersed.