New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) The AAP and the BJP staged counter-protests within a few hundred metres of each other as the Delhi Police deployed a large number of personnel and multiple layers of barricading to keep order, turning central Delhi into a fortress that caused traffic jams at several places.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had planned its demonstration in front of the BJP headquarters here against the alleged “cheating” in the Chandigarh mayoral elections, while the BJP’s protest was before the AAP office over alleged “corruption” in the Arvind Kejriwal government.
But workers and leaders of the two parties could not reach their planned protest sites — their offices are barely 800 metres apart — owing to a wall of barricades and police personnel deployed on the Deen Dayal Upadhaya Marg.
Not just in central Delhi, police said “elaborate arrangements” were made on the national capital’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to maintain law and order.
A total of 48 BJP and 15 Aam Aadmi Party workers were detained as they tried to breach barricades, police said, adding that no Delhi cabinet minister and MLA were detained.
Addressing a large gathering at the protest at his party’s office, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal targeted the BJP, saying if it can “rig” the Chandigarh mayoral polls, it could go to any extent in assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Referring to the BJP, he said, the world’s biggest party was caught on camera “stealing” votes in the Chandigarh mayoral polls. The elections to the posts of mayor, senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor were held on Tuesday and the BJP won all defeating the Congress-AAP alliance BJP leaders and workers, who gathered in large numbers in front of their party’s office waving flags and holding placards and posters criticising Kejriwal, attacked his government, alleging it is corrupt. They demanded Kejriwal’s resignation.
“The Kejriwal government has become synonymous with corruption. Every day a scam of the government is exposed before the people,” Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said.
The AAP alleged that not just its workers, but some of its leaders, including MLAs and councillors, were put under house arrest or detained to stop them from participating in the protest.
“Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel and Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal have been placed under house arrest. MLAs of Rajouri Garden, Bijwasan, Chhatarpur and Krishna Nagar, and councillors of Laxmi Nagar, Badli, Tri Nagar, Moti Nagar and Timarpur have also been placed under house arrest,” Delhi Minister and AAP leader Gopal Rai told a press conference.
However, a senior police officer said no one was placed under house arrest. “The policemen were deployed in various areas to avoid of any untoward incident.” The security measures and route diversions in view of the protests led to heavy traffic congestion in central Delhi and other parts of the city, leaving commuters stranded in long jams.
In view of the protests by the two rival parties, the roads leading to the DDU Marg were closed for a few hours and barricades set up to stop protestors from running into each other.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic was witnessed on the National Highway-24 and National Highway-9 near Akshardham.
There were long jams near the India Gate, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg and Minto Road near Connaught Place. Traffic was crawling on Mathura also. Some commuters shared photos and videos of the traffic situation on X.
They mentioned that the traffic was heavy at Sarai Kale Khan, Vikas Marg near Preet Vihar and at Dayanand Vihar. The traffic was also affected near Town Hall Chadni Chowk.
Describing the scene around the AAP office, Rai said it has been turned into a “fortress” by police.
“It seems that it is a protest by police. At various places, our party workers have been detained. We want to stage a peaceful protest. Events and protests have been organised earlier also by the AAP but never has such a large deployment been made by police,” he said.
In a post on X earlier, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Atishi said, “Heavy barricading all across Delhi. Buses full of AAP volunteers being detained. Hundreds of para-military forces outside the AAP office.” “Why is the BJP so scared of a protest in the Chandigarh mayoral elections?” she asked.
Her cabinet colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj in a video statement asked whether the BJP was scared of Kejriwal.
“The entire entire country saw how votes were stolen in the Chandigarh mayoral polls by the BJP,” he said. PTI SLB VIT ALK NIT BUN BUN TIR TIR
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