The Delhi Police, on Thursday, detained 89 persons including Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam and five MLAs for protesting outside Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s house at Akbar Road here.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma said that the members and workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had gheraoed the home and when they were asked to leave, they got agitated.
“The area is under prohibitory orders of Section 144 CrPC. Therefore, 89 persons including 14 women and 75 males were detained under the Delhi Police Act around 12 noon,” he said adding that they were let off after a few hours. The legislators who were detained included Ajay Dutt, Rakhi Bidlan, Anil Vajpayee, Fateh Singh and Girish Saini. “The detained persons included six AAP councillors,” said Mr. Verma.
Mr. Gautam said he had gone to participate in the protest by AAP volunteers outside the residence of the Home Minister, seeking action against the Chief Secretary for allegedly making casteist comments on two AAP MLAs Prakash Jarwal and Ajay Dutt, and also against those responsible for attacks on Environment Minister Imran Hussain.
“We were detained as soon as we assembled for a peaceful protest. On the other hand, BJP workers were allowed to protest outside the Deputy Chief Minister’s house...Has the rule of the Constitution ended in the country. Is Delhi in the midst of an undeclared Emergency,” asked Mr. Gautam.
Police permission
Countering Mr. Gautam’s allegation, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “The difference between the two separate reactions from the police lies in the fact that the BJP had sought permission to hold the said protest outside the Deputy CM’s residence, which is not located in a highly secure area, while the AAP had not done the same despite the fact that police permission is certainly a prerequisite to even gather outside the Union Home Minister’s residence.”
The Delhi BJP workers also held demonstrations across the city including outside Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s house against the alleged “autocratic, anarchic and corrupt governance” by the Kejriwal government.
Mr. Verma said that no one was detained in the BJP protest because they allegedly didn’t create any ruckus. “They held a peaceful protest and when they were asked to leave, they left,” he said.
