AAP leaders under house arrest, detained; BJP protests against Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi. Top updates

Delhi Speaker Ram Niwas Goel and deputy mayor Aaley Mohd Iqbal have been placed under house arrest, said Gopal Rai.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday alleged that Delhi assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, deputy mayor Aaley Mohd Iqbal and some of its leaders, including MLAs and councillors, have been placed under house arrest ahead of its protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party over the alleged fraud in the Chandigarh mayor elections.

Delhi Police and paramilitary forces at the AAP protest site. (HT PHOTO) (HT_PRINT)

Delhi minister Gopal Rai said AAP MLAs and councillors were placed under house arrest or detained, while its volunteers stopped from participating in a protest outside the BJP headquarters.

The AAP's protest, which is being attended by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, is against alleged “cheating” in Tuesday's Chandigarh mayoral elections, which the BJP won.

Top updates on AAP vs BJP protests

• Security has been stepped up in central Delhi with cops barricading several roads leading to the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg and deploying additional personnel in view of the AAP's protest by the BJP against “corruption” in the Kejriwal government.
• The BJP is protesting near the AAP head office. The offices of both parties are on the same road, a few hundred metres from each other.
• Gopal Rai claimed that his AAP MLAs and councillors have been “placed under house arrest ahead of the protest”.
• Rai demanded their immediate release.
• In a post on X (formally Twitter), Arvind Kejriwal said, “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.”
• "Across Delhi, they are detaining elected MLAs, councillors and volunteers, who were coming to the party office. What is this going on?" he added.
• Officials said roads leading to the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg have been closed since Friday morning and barricades have been set up near the headquarters of the BJP and the AAP.
• In a post on X, Delhi minister Atishi said, “Heavy barricading all across Delhi. Buses full of AAP volunteers being detained. Hundreds of para-military forces outside the AAP office.”
• Her cabinet colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj in a video statement asked whether the BJP was scared of Kejriwal.
• Meanwhile, Delhi BJP leaders and workers staged a protest near the AAP headquarters, alleging corruption in the Kejriwal-led Delhi government.
• Just a few hundred metres away, AAP workers and leaders protested at the BJP headquarters over alleged rigging in the recently held mayoral polls in Chandigarh. BJP workers raised slogans against the Delhi CM and demanded his resignation.

(With inputs from agencies)