Arvind Kejriwal, who is out on bail, gave the protest call in a video message. (File)
New Delhi:
AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal will lead a protest by senior party leaders at the BJP headquarters in Delhi this noon, accusing the party of targeting and arresting AAP leaders one by one.
In a video message yesterday, he said he would march to the BJP headquarters with all his senior leaders where the saffron party could arrest them all at once if they wanted.
प्रधानमंत्री जी, ये एक-एक करके क्या आप हम लोगों को गिरफ़्तार कर रहे हैं? एक साथ सभी को गिरफ़्तार कर लीजिए – CM @ArvindKejriwal l LIVE https://t.co/0LIUQdK9PZ
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 18, 2024
“One after the other, they have been putting our leaders in jail… I want to tell the Prime Minister: You are playing this game of arresting people one at a time. Tomorrow, I will go to the BJP headquarters at noon with all my senior leaders, MLAs, and MPs. Jail whoever you want, do it all at once,” he said.
He claimed that his party’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, and Delhi Ministers Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi are also the BJP’s targets.
The AAP chief, who is out on bail in the liquor policy case, gave the protest call in a video message after his personal secretary Bibhav Kumar was arrested in the Swati Maliwal assault case.
Ms Maliwal, a Rajya Sabha MP, has accused Mr Kumar of assaulting her inside the Chief Minister’s residence, sparking a fierce blame game in the middle of the elections. She has alleged that the official had kicked her in the chest, stomach, and pelvic area, and had brutally “dragged her and pulled her shirt up”.
Mr Kumar was arrested from the Chief Minister’s house yesterday and was sent to five-day police custody.
The issue has led to a political storm with the BJP and the AAP trading charges on how women have been treated by both parties.
The AAP said yesterday Ms Maliwal was “blackmailed” by the BJP to become part of the “conspiracy” against the Chief Minister. It also posted a CCTV footage yesterday that showed the MP walking out of the Chief Minister’s residence, escorted by security personnel.
The Delhi BJP has alleged that the AAP was circulating “edited” videos to tarnish Ms Maliwal’s image. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva has said that now that Mr Kumar has been arrested, many “dirty pages” of AAP’s politics will become public.
The AAP has been accusing the BJP-led central government of targeting AAP leaders – the latest being the arrest of Bibhav Kumar.
Mr Kejriwal was arrested last March and is out on bail till June 1 while his former deputy Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain remain in jail. Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay was released last month after over six months of jail stay in the liquor policy case.
