Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders held a protest outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in Chandigarh on Monday against the “unconstitutional” arrest of AAP leader and Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia.
Hundreds of AAP leaders and workers including Punjab government ministers Harpal Singh Cheema, Anmol Gagan Mann, Lalchand Kataruchak, Brahm Shankar Jimpa, Dr Balbir Singh, Harjot Bains, Harbhajan Singh, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Chetan Singh Jouramajra, Dr Inderbir Singh Nijhar and AAP Punjab general secretary Harchand Singh Barsat participated in the protest.
Blaming the Centre government for the arrest of Sisodia, they raised slogans against the Narendra Modi-led Centre government. AAP leaders termed the arrest of Sisodia as a dictatorial decision which is a threat to democracy.
Addressing the workers, senior AAP Punjab leader and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the BJP government was using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to suppress the voices of the Opposition.
The BJP is unnerved by the Aam Aadmi Party and that’s why they are registering fake cases against the leaders and putting them in jail, he added.
Cheema said as the education minister of Delhi, Sisodia made arrangements for good education for poor children. “Today in Delhi, children of both rich and poor are studying together in government schools. Fearing the education revolution in Delhi, the BJP has arrested Sisodia on false charges,” he said.
The Minister said ED raided Sisodia’s house several times and bank accounts were searched, but nothing was found. “The CBI has arrested Sisodia under pressure from the Modi government. BJP’s aim is not to arrest Sisodia but to stop Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal. But the party will continue to work for the common people and downtrodden society to lift their living standards. Soon the whole truth will come out in front of the public,” he said.
Cheema said the CBI has no evidence against Sisodia. “Some BJP leaders are saying Rs 10 thousand crore and some are saying Rs 25 thousand crore, but not even a single rupee has been recovered from him. The BJP will be cursed by the parents of the children studying in the government schools of Delhi,” he added.
Meanwhile, many senior AAP leaders including the Punjab Cabinet Ministers have been detained by the Chandigarh Police for holding the protest outside the BJP office.
