Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj criticized the BJP, challenging them to arrest all AAP leaders together instead of targeting them one by one. He accused the Delhi Police of withholding permission for a planned march to the BJP’s headquarters, alleging that they were acting on the Centre’s orders.
Bharadwaj stated, “All our big leaders are being thrown behind bars… If Prime Minister Modi thinks he can crush and finish off the AAP by putting our leaders in jail, he is mistaken. We are gathering outside the BJP headquarters… Instead of throwing our leaders in jail one after the other, let them arrest us all at once.”
He also claimed, “Police did not give us permission to march to the BJP office… They are only doing the bidding of the Centre… If they do not comply with the dictates of the central government, they will either be transferred, suspended or booked in false cases.”
The AAP had planned a ‘Jail Bharo’ campaign, but security was increased around the BJP’s national headquarters ahead of the protest. Delhi Traffic Police issued a traffic advisory, warning of congestion and snarls in certain areas.
The protests followed the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal’s former aide in connection with an alleged assault on AAP MP Swati Maliwal. Kejriwal accused PM Modi of playing a “Jail ka Khel” with the AAP and announced a march to the BJP headquarters.
Kejriwal stated in a video, “They put me, Manish Sisodia, Satyendra Jain, and Sanjay Singh behind bars… You are playing a jail ka khel with us… You can put whoever you want in jail.”
Bibhav Kumar, Kejriwal’s former PA, was remanded in police custody for five days in connection with the assault case. He had earlier emailed the Delhi Police offering to cooperate in the investigation.
In a counter-complaint, Bibhav accused Maliwal of gaining unauthorized entry into the CM’s residence and verbally abusing him. Maliwal alleged that Bibhav had physically assaulted her.
Bibhav’s service as Kejriwal’s PA was terminated by the Vigilance Department last month over a pending criminal case.