AAP Alleges Kejriwal’s Movement Still ‘Restricted’, Delhi Police Denies Claim
The AAP on Wednesday alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s movement is still “restricted” and the main gate of his residence remains closed by the Delhi Police, which denied the charge. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had on Tuesday alleged that the Delhi Police put Kejriwal under house arrest after he met farmers protesting against the Centre’s agriculture reform laws at the city’s Singhu border, again claimed that it was being done at the behest of Union Minister Amit Shah.
The Delhi Police had rejected AAP’s charge against it as “totally baseless”. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said there is an atmosphere of “undeclared emergency” around the chief minister”s residence.
“I am telling you with full responsibility that the movement of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is still restricted at the behest of the (Union) home minister. The main gate of the chief minister’s residence is still closed,” Chadha alleged. “In a way, there is an atmosphere of undeclared emergency. All this, just because we did not allow the stadiums to be converted into prisons for farmers,” he alleged.
A senior police officer said there is no restriction on any kind of movement of the chief minister. “The police deployment outside the chief minister”s residence is part of security protocol,” he said.
According to police sources, Kejriwal left his residence around 11 AM to attend a programme. Chadha claimed that Kejriwal’s residence is still not fully opened and one door continues to remain closed because of the Delhi Police.
The entrance that everyone uses to enter the CM’s residence and meet him, remains closed even now. Access to that entrance has been blocked as 4-5 members of the BJP are camping outside the CM’s residence, with active assistance from Delhi Police,” he alleged. “The CM’s right to free movement, which is a fundamental right, has been curtailed,” Chadha said.
The BJP had on Tuesday accused Kejriwal of indulging in politics of “lies and deceit” after the Delhi police denied the AAP’s allegations. Chadha alleged, “This act of putting him under house arrest is purely an act of revenge because Arvind Kejriwal supported the farmers, because he made arrangements for toilets, water, warm clothes, food for them.
On Tuesday, Kejriwal came out of his residence after hours of drama outside. Addressing party workers, he said the Centre tried its best to ensure that he did not step out.
The CM said if he was not stopped, he would have gone and supported farmers in their Bharat Bandh. Kejriwal claimed the Centre was “very angry” as his government did not allow Delhi stadiums to be used as prisons for farmers.
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting at various border points of Delhi against the new farm laws. The Centre’s offer to amend the contentious laws has failed to cut ice with the protesting farmers who have stuck to their demand for a repeal of the legislation.
Meanwhile, mayors and leaders of the BJP-ruled municipal corporations continued their sit-in outside Kejriwal’s residence for the third day on Wednesday, with party MPs Manoj Tiwari and Gautam Gambhir joining the protest. They are demanding payment of “unpaid” dues of Rs 13,000 crore from the Delhi government.
Mayors of North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations, Jai Prakash, Anamika Mithilesh and Nirmal Jain, accompanied by many women councillors, have been sitting outside Kejriwal’s Flagstaff Road residence since Monday.
