Protests, allegations and counters all day long over Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia's arrest

NEW DELHI: A day after CBI arrested deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers protested on Monday outside the party headquarters on DDU Marg amid heavy police presence in the whole area.
They sat on the road chanting slogans in support of Sisodia and holding placards reading "shiksha mantri tujhe salam". Senior leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj and Adil Rashid even wore handcuffs in protest against the investigating agencies.
Referring to the police action of placing barricades and buses to prevent the protesters from reaching the nearby BJP headquarters, Bharadwaj accused BJP of using its might to stop AAP workers. "BJP blocked our vehicles multiple times on the way to the venue and detained our party workers from their houses," he said. "But despite all the forces of BJP stopping us, large numbers of people have made it here. Even people within the police force believe that it is wrong to arrest Sisodia, but officials cannot express this in public," the AAP chief spokesperson said.
Heavy police presence could be seen around the AAP headquarters, Rouse Avenue Court and the BJP office, which is less than a kilometre from the protest venue. The entry of vehicles was not allowed on DDU Marg the whole day.
Bharadwaj claimed, "AAP is not afraid. We will not bow down, we will not stop... The Prime Minister is scared of this power. It is not only the power of Arvind Kejriwal, but the power of AAP workers that BJP fears."
In the evening, a scuffle broke out between party leaders and police near the office gate when the cops tried to clear the area. Some workers were detained. Alleging that the central government could put anyone in jail without any evidence or investigation, MLA Atishi said, "AAP workers were protesting peacefully inside the headquarters when they were dragged out by Delhi Police and detained." Delhi Police, however, refuted the charge.
Speaking from inside the bus after he was detained, MLA Kuldeep Kumar said Sisodia was responsible for bringing an "educational revolution" in Delhi. "A person is working for the betterment of the nation and its children, BJP misuses agencies to put him in jail," he alleged. Another leader, Adil Ahmad Khan, said, "Sisodia was solely responsible for providing a bright future to Delhi government school children and the arrest was made in a false case." Calling the arrest shameful, he said, "AAP workers are followers of Bhagat Singh and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, and won't be intimidated by BJP's attempts to suppress their movement."
Later in the evening, Delhi minister Gopal Rai said at the party office, "If the central government wanted to investigate corruption, at least a notice would have been served to (industrialist Gautam) Adani. The whole country is thinking that if Adani had not been Modi's friend, there would have been a CBI, ED investigation against him. Democracy cannot run like this."
Protests were also held in other parts of National Capital Region. In Ghaziabad, over 100 AAP workers gathered near Ghanta Ghar, and police had to use mild force after they blocked GT Road from the Lal Kuan side, resulting in a traffic jam till the Meerut tri-section. The protesters, many of them women, were reportedly dragged from the site and over two dozens were detained. "The Modi government is making all efforts to silence the voice of dissent," said Sabhajeet Singh, AAP's election in-charge in UP.
Refuting the allegations, DCP (city) Nipun Agarwal said, "The protesters had blocked the busy GT Road, causing inconvenience to commuters. So we had to forcefully remove them."
With inputs from Ghaziabad by Abhijay Jha