The Aam Aadmi Party which has been conducting nationwide protests against the Centre over the arrest of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has alleged that 80 percent of its leaders were illegally detained by the Delhi Police since Sunday, and questioned whether anyone can be kept in detention for more than 24 hours.
Addressing a press conference, AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said, "Since yesterday, the Aam Aadmi Party has been repeatedly saying that not only has Manish Sisodia ji been arrested, but almost 80 percent of the leadership of the party has been arrested by police. When asked, the central government is saying that they have only been detained,” he said.
"I want to know whether the detention is of one hour, two hours or three hours. Now, it will be 24 hours, can police detain such big leaders for 24 hours? There is no such provision in the law," he said.
Speaking against Sisodia's arrest, AAP MLA and former Deputy Speaker at Delhi Legislative Assembly, Bandana Kumari said, "Unfortunate for Delhi that an education minister praised world over has been targeted Sisodia was cooperating since the probe was launched last year, always appeared for questioning. Despite raids at Sisodia's residence, ancestral house and office, no incriminating material was found. Delhi stands to lose a lot with this politically motivated arrest as the assembly's Budget session is on, Sisodia holds many portfolios. Delhi Liquor policy was brought in transparently and with due process."
Several leaders, party workers in different states took to streets and chanted slogans against the Modi government since Sisodia's arrest. Amid tight security, protests are being staged in Chandigarh, Delhi, Bhopal, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Patna, Nagpur among other cities.
The Delhi police on Monday also detained several AAP leaders and workers after they clashed with security personnel during a protest march from the party office to BJP headquarters in Central Delhi.
In Uttar Pradesh, the AAP workers and leaders protested against Sisodia's arrest chanting slogans and raising placards.
The West Bengal unit of AAP today, staged a demonstration near BJP state headquarters carrying posters and placards that criticised the BJP government at the Centre. The ruling TMC in the state, too, condemned the arrest as a "reflection of authoritarian rule".
The Haryana unit of the party staged a protest in Rohtak near BJP office. Several AAP leaders including Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta, Ashok Tanwar and Anurag Dhanda took part in the protest, along with party workers. Speaking to reporters during the protest, Gupta alleged that "an undeclared emergency prevails in the country" and added "our fight is against that".
Goa AAP leaders including MLAs Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva, state party vice president Valmiki Naik and others protested outside the BJP's head office in Panaji. Naik claimed that the arrest of Sisodia was "murder of democracy".
In Punjab, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, Cabinet ministers Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Anmol Gagan Mann and Inderbir Singh Nijjar participated in the protest along with other protesters.
Speaking to reporters, Cheema accused the BJP of targeting the elected governments of political rivals in the states and booking their leaders in false cases. "The BJP has become a danger for democracy in the country," alleged Cheema.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, were later taken into preventive custody by the Chandigarh police.
Not only this, but Jammu Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar Mizoram, party leaders demonstrated in several states of the country.
The series of protests broke out after the CBI on Sunday arrested Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with alleged corruption in the now-scrapped excise policy while police detained 50 people, including AAP MP Sanjay Singh and minister Gopal Rai, who were protesting near the CBI office. According to police, the leaders detained on Sunday were being released today.
Bhardwaj said the long detention was illegal and drew a parallel between former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s emergency era and the present.
He said that Delhi police have arrested a Rajya Sabha MP and dozens of MLAs and elected councillors since yesterday, who have not been released yet. He claimed that it is illegal to detain someone for such a long duration and the government should have by now presented them in the court and revealed the reasons and the sections under which they have arrested a Rajya Sabha MP.
He added, these are "signs of emergency" and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is doing what Indira Gandhi did when she imposed emergency in 1975.
”These are very dangerous signs. These are signs of emergency. You have put all the leaders behind bars without any reason and this is wrong. The central government should answer on what basis did it arrest our top leadership and put them behind bars,” he said.
Reiterating that the Centre is "torturing" the AAP, he said the party will hold a peaceful protest outside BJP headquarters to protest against the developments.
Sisodia’s arrest, one of the high-profile actions against an opposition leader, came after that of Satyendar Jain, Delhi’s former health minister, in June last year.
