NEW DELHI:
In a daunting move, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided to elevate Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s illegal arrest to a nationwide movement. AAP Delhi State Convenor, Shri Gopal Rai, affirmed that the entire INDIA Alliance stands in solidarity with Shri Arvind Kejriwal, vowing to safeguard the nation’s constitution and democracy. The stage is set for a pivotal moment on March 23, as Punjab’s CM Sardar Bhagwant Mann, alongside all AAP MLAs, councilors, and officials, convenes at Delhi’s Shaheedi Park with INDIA Alliance leaders to kickstart a people’s movement on ‘Shaheedi Diwas (Martyrs’ Day). It includes burning effigies of the authoritarian PM across Delhi on March 24, abstaining from Holi celebrations on March 25 to focus on conveying a message of national salvation, and surrounding the Prime Minister’s residence on March 26. With outreach to the component parties of the INDIA Alliance underway, the promise of a united nationwide movement is significant. As anger simmers across the country over Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, the AAP remains resolute in its battle against the authoritarianism of the Modi government.
AAP Delhi State Convenor and Cabinet Minister in Delhi Government Shri Gopal Rai stated, “Last night, the Prime Minister got the Chief Minister arrested to prove and fulfil his ego. Everyone knows that the people of Delhi elected Shri Arvind Kejriwal as their Chief Minister with a huge majority. They showered immense love and support to the CM, and in return, the CM also worked dedicatedly for the people of Delhi. Today the developmental works in Delhi are being discussed all over the country. Based on these developments, the party has been able to expand its footprint in other states like Punjab, Goa, and Gujarat. People welcomed us based on our work and gradually the AAP became a National party.”
The Cabinet Minister in the Delhi Government denounced the Prime Minister for deliberately attacking the leaders of the opposition parties instead of doing good work. He stated that the PM is doing all of this to regain his political powers, he is orchestrating the raids at the properties of his opponents and getting them arrested one by one. The PM and the BJP are misusing the constitutional agencies like ED in doing so. The BJP is intolerant of the way Shri Arvind Kejriwal unmasked every anti-constitutional, anti-democracy decision of the BJP government, especially the way he has exposed their Electoral Bond scam of extorting money from big companies. They are scared that this scam will sink their boat and be the reason for their fall. They are scared that if Shri Arvind Kejriwal is outside, he will definitely expose them in front of the nation. The arrest of Shri Arvind Kejriwal yesterday was solely aimed at fulfilling the PM’s political ego.
“Today, when people across the nation came on the streets to protest against the BJP’s dictatorship and the fraudulent arrest of Shri Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party office was completely sealed and nobody was allowed to enter the premises. This is the first time in history that the officials of a party were denied entry into their own office. They have arrested various AAP ministers and volunteers throughout the day to suppress our voice,” the AAP Delhi State Convenor added.
The Delhi State Convenor of AAP also stated how the family members of Shri Arvind Kejriwal are also under house arrest and nobody was allowed to enter their house. “What does the Prime Minister want? If he believes that by deploying massive forces or by imposing Section 144, he will be able to crush the voices of people, then he is wrong. This is not going to happen”, he said.
Shri Gopal Rai mentioned, “The whole nation is saying that the BJP should have fought fairly in the elections. By arresting Shri Arvind Kejriwal, they crossed all the limits. Even the BJP workers are saying that the BJP is giving tickets to big corrupt people but targeting people who are working for the welfare of Delhi and the country. They have already arrested Shri Manish Sisodia, Shri Satyendar Jain, and Shri Sanjay Singh under fabricated cases. They are continuously arresting opposition leaders under false cases. The illegal arrest of Shri Arvind Kejriwal has saddened the whole nation, people are outrageous.”
Announcing the protests against the arrest of CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi State Convenor of AAP said, “We will continue our movement against the BJP’s dictatorship. We have decided that tomorrow, on 23rd March 2024, the Martyrdom Day of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev, we will protest in ITO, Delhi, opposite the Maulana Azad Medical College. The protest will take place in the Bhagat Singh Rajguru Shaheedi Park. All the MLAs, ministers, councilors, and officials of AAP, along with different officials of the INDIA alliance will reach Shaheedi Park at 10 am tomorrow. We will together pledge to protect the nation from BJP’s dictatorship.”
Shri Gopal Rai further articulated the plan of action for the coming days. He stated, “Just like the freedom fighters who fought for independence and the establishment of democracy during British rule, we will also fight against the BJP’s dictatorship. We will make all the sacrifices to do so. We appeal to all the leaders from AAP and the INDIA alliance to join the movement in huge numbers. Punjab CM Shri Bhagwant Mann will also attend demonetisation. On 24th March 2024, at 11 am, we will start burning the effigies of the Dictator Prime Minister in many constituencies.”
The AAP Cabinet Minister also stated that in light of the atrocities done against Shri Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP will cancel the celebration of Holi on 25th March 2024. “The AAP leaders will go and meet the public and spread awareness on how it is our collective responsibility to save the nation. On 26th March 2024, we will take the protest to the PM house, to demonstrate against his dictator rule.”
Apart from this, various leaders from the INDIA alliance have also presented their arguments to the Election Commission today. “When the Model Code of Conduct has already been implemented in the country, then how can an elected Chief Minister and the National Convenor of a party be arrested? We are also in touch with the leaders of component parties of the INDIA bloc and together we will launch a joint protest soon. We will fight against this dictator rule and the ego of the Prime Minister.”
