In a tweet, Sinha said: “We have just been arrested by the Delhi Police.” Similar tweets were posted by the two AAP leaders, with photos from the bus. (File)
Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha Monday alleged he was arrested by Delhi Police for protesting against the Centre’s “mishandling” of the migrant crisis. The former BJP leader had staged a sit-in protest outside Rajghat, and was joined by several AAP leaders including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Timarpur MLA Dilip Pandey.
The protest started at 11 am. In the evening, Sinha and the others were removed from the site by police and taken in a bus to Rajender Nagar police station. Police said they were at the station for 45 minutes before they left.
In a tweet, Sinha said: “We have just been arrested by the Delhi Police.” Similar tweets were posted by the two AAP leaders, with photos from the bus.
Police, however, denied the allegations. Anil Mittal, Additional PRO of Delhi Police, said, “We have not detained/arrested anyone. We have only removed them from the site as protests are not allowed as per the lockdown. Senior officers will be speaking to the protesters.”
DCP (Central) Sanjay Bhatia confirmed that the protest was stopped and the men were removed: “No FIR has been registered; they have been released.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, Sinha said over 20 people joined his ‘movement’ at Rajghat. In a video of the protest, the men shouted slogans and held placards, including one that read ‘Deploy Army to send back migrants’. “The Centre is blaming state governments but it is the Government of India which hasn’t made adequate arrangements,” said Sinha.
Kejriwal, meanwhile, told a TV news channel Monday that politicising such issues was not the right thing to do during a crisis. Referring to party spokesperson Raghav Chadha, who said on Sunday that the migrant exodus resembled the exodus during the Partition in 1947, Kejriwal said such statements should not have been made. “When governments work, there will be some things that aren’t done well. If I do 100 things, people can criticise me for 10-20 things done wrong… This is not the time to make such statements,” he said.