Punjab Minister Harjot Singh Bains and Somnath Bharti were among the scores of AAP members detained by police on Tuesday as they gathered at the Patel Chowk here to protest against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Raising slogans of “Inquilab Zindabad” and “Kejriwal Zindabad”, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers and leaders reached the area’s metro station in groups, with the party calling for a march to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg for a “gherao”.
Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are imposed in the area and police cannot allow anyone to gather, a senior officer said and added that in view of this, “we have to clear this area”. “We will not allow anybody to gather here,” he said.
AAP national convener Kejriwal, who was arrested on March 21 and subsequently remanded to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) custody till March 28 by a Delhi court, faces allegations of direct involvement in a conspiracy related to the formulation of the excise policy favouring specific individuals.
“The BJP-led central government is targeting everyone who is honest so that it can save the corrupt,” Kavita, one of the protesters, said.
Senior AAP leader Bharti in a post on X said he has been detained by police along with Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker and AAP’s Mangolpuri MLA Rakhi Birla.