Members were demanding the resignation of opposition official who was arrested for alleged corruption
10 April 2024 - 16:03
bySakshi Dayal
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Supporters of Aam Aadmi Party attend a protest rally against the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party's main leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, at the Ramlila Ground in New Delhi, India, March 31 2024. Picture: REUTERS/Sharafat Al
New Delhi — Several members of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were detained on Wednesday during a protest to demand the resignation of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been arrested in a corruption case.
The protest in the capital prompted police efforts to disperse the crowd using water cannons and came a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed a plea challenging Kejriwal’s arrest, saying his detention was justified.
Kejriwal, a key opposition leader, was arrested by the financial crime-fighting agency last month on allegations of corruption relating to Delhi’s liquor policy, ahead of general elections beginning on April 19 in which Modi is seeking a third term.
He was sent to prison until April 15 and is being held in Tihar jail, where he joined two other senior leaders of his party who were imprisoned in the same case.
Kejriwal filed an appeal against the decision in the Supreme Court on Wednesday but the top court rejected his plea for an urgent hearing, local media reported.
Protesting near the headquarters of Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the capital, BJP members chanted slogans calling the leader “corrupt” and a “thief”. Police hauled them into buses and removed them.
“A government cannot be run from prison ... if Arvind Kejriwal doesn’t resign, the law will do its work,” the BJP’s Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the leader of the opposition in the Delhi assembly, told ANI news agency.
AAP leaders, who maintain the case against Kejriwal is “fabricated”, said he wouldn’t resign.
“This is a question of saving India’s democracy. If Kejriwal gives his resignation, AAP will be finished ... all opposition parties of the country will be finished,” said Sanjay Singh of the AAP, who was granted bail in the same case last week.
Almost 30 opposition parties, which have formed an alliance called INDIA, of which AAP is a member, have spoken against Kejriwal’s arrest, saying such action against opposition groups is aimed at denying them a level playing field in the elections.
The BJP and Modi’s government have denied the accusations and say enforcement agencies are merely doing their job.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
India ruling party members detained over protest
Members were demanding the resignation of opposition official who was arrested for alleged corruption
New Delhi — Several members of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were detained on Wednesday during a protest to demand the resignation of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been arrested in a corruption case.
The protest in the capital prompted police efforts to disperse the crowd using water cannons and came a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed a plea challenging Kejriwal’s arrest, saying his detention was justified.
Kejriwal, a key opposition leader, was arrested by the financial crime-fighting agency last month on allegations of corruption relating to Delhi’s liquor policy, ahead of general elections beginning on April 19 in which Modi is seeking a third term.
He was sent to prison until April 15 and is being held in Tihar jail, where he joined two other senior leaders of his party who were imprisoned in the same case.
Kejriwal filed an appeal against the decision in the Supreme Court on Wednesday but the top court rejected his plea for an urgent hearing, local media reported.
Protesting near the headquarters of Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the capital, BJP members chanted slogans calling the leader “corrupt” and a “thief”. Police hauled them into buses and removed them.
“A government cannot be run from prison ... if Arvind Kejriwal doesn’t resign, the law will do its work,” the BJP’s Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the leader of the opposition in the Delhi assembly, told ANI news agency.
AAP leaders, who maintain the case against Kejriwal is “fabricated”, said he wouldn’t resign.
“This is a question of saving India’s democracy. If Kejriwal gives his resignation, AAP will be finished ... all opposition parties of the country will be finished,” said Sanjay Singh of the AAP, who was granted bail in the same case last week.
Almost 30 opposition parties, which have formed an alliance called INDIA, of which AAP is a member, have spoken against Kejriwal’s arrest, saying such action against opposition groups is aimed at denying them a level playing field in the elections.
The BJP and Modi’s government have denied the accusations and say enforcement agencies are merely doing their job.
Reuters
Indian court rejects appeal against opposition leader’s arrest
Delhi chief minister to remain in jail until April 15 in corruption case
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