The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said on Friday that in advance of its protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party over the alleged fraud in the Chandigarh mayor elections, deputy mayor Aaley Mohd Iqbal, and several of its leaders, including MLAs and councillors, had been placed under house arrest. AAP MLAs and council members were detained or put under house arrest, according to Delhi minister Gopal Rai, while the party’s volunteers ceased taking part in a protest outside the BJP headquarters.
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, is present at the AAP’s demonstration, which is against suspected “cheating” in the BJP-won Chandigarh mayoral elections on Tuesday.
Security tightens in Delhi
AAP’s protest by the BJP against “corruption” in the Kejriwal administration has prompted police to tighten up security in central Delhi, barricading several roads leading to the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg and deploying more officers. The AAP headquarters is the site of a protest by the BJP. Situated on the same road, a short distance apart, are the offices of both parties.
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. Roads leading to the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg have been blocked since Friday morning, according to officials, and barriers have been erected close to the BJP and AAP headquarters. In a video message, her cabinet colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj questioned if the BJP was afraid of Kejriwal.
In the meantime, leaders and supporters of the Delhi BJP organized a protest close to the AAP offices, accusing the Kejriwal-led Delhi government of corruption. AAP leaders and workers staged a demonstration at the BJP headquarters a short distance away, alleging manipulation of the just concluded Chandigarh mayoral elections. BJP members chanted anti-Delhi chief minister chants and called for his resignation.
Due to planned protests by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) outside of each other’s offices in the area, the Delhi Police blocked off and closed the busy Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) Marg between ITO and Minto Bridge on Friday, causing traffic congestion, including on the Ring Road.
“As the DDU Marg has been barricaded between ITO Chowk intersection and Minto Road crossing, traffic is being diverted on alternate routes for commuters travelling to and from New Delhi railway station from Ajmeri Gate side. Those coming from eastern parts of Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Noida or Sarai Kale Khan side are being asked to reach the railway station either via Delhi Gate or from Connaught Place circle,” said a police officer.
By: Gursharan Kaur