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Bharat Bandh: AAP alleges Arvind Kejriwal under house arrest; Delhi Police deny claim
AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said no one, not even domestic helper, is being allowed to leave or enter the CM’s official residence since Monday
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday alleged that the Delhi Police, on the directions of the Central government, “has almost“ put chief minister Arvind Kejriwal under house arrest ever since he returned from Singhu border after meeting the protesting farmers. The Delhi Police, however, categorically denied the allegations and said it is “general deployment” and that the CM’s movement has not been barred in any way.
Addressing a press conference, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj on Tuesday morning said no one, not even domestic helper, is being allowed to leave or enter the CM’s official residence since Monday. The CM had to cancel all his scheduled meetings on Tuesday, he said.
“On a day when the entire country is supporting the farmers in the Bharat Bandh, the Central government’s home ministry has asked the Delhi Police to not allow Kejriwal to leave his residence. Yesterday, when Kejriwal, along with all his Cabinet colleagues, went to Singhu border to meet the protesting farmers as a sewadar, the BJP-led Central government got scared. It is the same way as they got upset when Kejriwal did not allow the Delhi Police to convert nine stadiums into temporary jails for the farmers,” he said.
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The AAP leader said the “so-called” protest of the BJP mayors and other BJP leaders in front of the CM’s residence since Tuesday morning is “a ploy“ to keep Kejriwal under house arrest.
By afternoon, more than hundred AAP workers including several party MLAs and other leaders like MP Bhagwant Mann congregated near the cordoned off area outside Kejriwal’s residence at 6, Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines. They continue to sit on dharna on the road and are demanding removal of the barricades from the area.
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia also arrived at the spot at around 3.30pm and attempted to enter the CM’s residence. “Everyday I visit the CM’s home at least thrice for different meetings. But, today, the police did not allow me as well. The police said they will decide who can go inside and who can’t. If this is not house arrest then what is? CM Kejriwal denied stadiums to be turned into jails for farmers, that is why the Central government now has turned his house into a jail,” said Sisodia from outside the Chief Minister’s residence which has now turned into a dharna site.
After talking to reporters, the deputy CM joined the sit-in being staged by Bhagwant Mann and other AAP leaders on the road leading to Kejriwal’s residence.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said the AAP’s claim of the chief minister being put under house arrest is “incorrect”. “He (Kejriwal) exercises his right to free movement within the law of the land. A picture of the house entrance says it all,” Anto Alphonse, DCP, North Delhi, said in a tweet which also included a picture from outside Kejriwal’s residence.
Later, Alphonse added that it is a general deployment to avoid any clash between AAP and any other party.
State home minister Satyendar Jain also took to Twitter and said the actions of the BJP government reminded him of the Emergency in the country. He, along with AAP social media cell, soon started tweeting multiple posts with the hashtag #BJPHouseArrestsKejriwal.
AAP leader Raghav Chadha said that it is “absolutely shocking” that the Delhi CM has been put under house arrest upon his return from Singhu Border. “Brute power of the state used to prevent Delhi CM from lending support to the farmers’ andolan and #BharatBandh, apart from violating his right to free movement,” Chadha said in a tweet.
Bhardwaj also alleged that the Delhi Police beat up some of the AAP MLAs who wanted to enter the CM’s residence for a meeting on Monday, and denied them entry.
Refuting AAP’s allegation, Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said, “The mayors and councillors are peacefully protesting outside the CM’s residence. The CM attended three events yesterday and today also, he is free to go wherever he wants to. We just want the government to clear the dues as the corporations are unable to pay salaries to its employees. We will continue our protest till we get the funds.”
On Tuesday morning, Gupta along with West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma joined the councillors in their protest outside Delhi CM’s residence. The three mayors had sat on a protest outside the CM’s residence in November. BJP leaders say that last month the government had assured the dues will be cleared.
Verma said, “The least the CM can do is call all of them inside and talk to them. The government should clear the dues. But no one from the CM’s office or the government has met the mayors who have been sitting outside since yesterday.”
Other BJP MPs are likely to join the protest.
(With inputs from Risha Chitlangia)
