AAP MLAs, workers protest Kejri’s arrest

Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party ministers, MLAs and workers protested in Mohali and Chandigarh today against the arrest of their party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate.

Braving water cannons fired at them by the Chandigarh Police to prevent them from breaking the double-layered barricades, the leaders protested for two hours before they were detained by the police. The leaders were later released and no FIR was registered.

The call for the protest was given in the wee hours today. Though, initially, there were very few people at the protest site, the crowds swelled later at Amb Sahib Gurdwara in Mohali from where they took out a march towards Chandigarh, raising slogans against the BJP. They were planning to protest outside Punjab Raj Bhawan. However, they were stopped by the police on the Chandigarh-Mohali border at Burail.

As the protesters, including ministers Harpal Cheema, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Chetan Singh Jauramajra, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Anmol Gagan Maan and Lal Chand Kataruchak tried to break the barricades, the police fired water cannons at them, injuring some of them. When some protesters managed to jump over the barricades, they were lathicharged.

During the protest, Cheema attacked the BJP and said the Central Government was murdering democracy by misusing the ED and CBI. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was afraid of Kejriwal because his thinking was to provide good education and health facilities to people of the country.

“To win the elections, the BJP is putting opposition leaders and Chief Ministers in jail. Jharkhand former Chief Minister Hemant Soren was put behind bars and now Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested. This is a black day for democracy of our country that a Chief Minister, elected with a huge majority, has been arrested without any evidence. This is the first time in the history of India that two main leaders have been arrested just before the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP wants to create fear among leaders of the Opposition. People will give a befitting reply to the BJP through elections,” he said.