AAP chief asks cops to take leave and join his protest
The aam aadmi was on the receiving end in the Capital on Monday as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and six of his ministers defied prohibitory orders and sat on a dharna outside Rail Bhavan bringing the city traffic to a standstill. Five cops were hurt in the scuffle with protesters, police informed The Pioneer.
As Kejriwal appealed to people to join the protest, all arterial roads leading to the venue were barricaded by police and four Metro stations in the vicinity were shut down as preventive measures. This created chaos on city roads. Several commuters missed their appointments on the first working day of the week and people in need of medical attention faced hardship in reaching hospitals in time.
Calling himself an “anarchist”, Kejriwal asked “honest” police officials to go on leave and join his protest against the Centre. When security personnel did not allow him to proceed to North Block housing the Home Ministry to demand action against five police officials — three SHOs and two ACPs — he camped in a park adjoining Rail Bhavan.
Kejriwal came down heavily on the Centre for the situation arising out of MHA’s refusal to take action against police officials who defied Delhi law Minister’s order to raid an alleged drug and prostitution racket running in South Delhi.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister cleared official files from his dharna site and asserted that governance will not be allowed to suffer because of the protest. “I would run the government from the dharna site,” he added.
“Some people are saying that I am an anarchist. I am spreading disorder. I agree I am an anarchist. Today, I will create anarchy for Shinde,” he said in an impromptu address to protesters. He rejected the suggestion of the police to shift the dharna site to nearby Jantar Mantar.
Amid criticism for putting hurdles in the preparation for Republic Day, Kejriwal said, “What is the point in celebrating Republic Day when women are being raped in Delhi. If our dharna is hampering preparations, the Centre is responsible.”
Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia called on families “who believe that their mothers and sisters are not safe in Delhi” to join the protest. “This year it won’t be Republic Day for VIPs but an independence day for the aam aadmi,” Sisodia said.
Kejriwal claimed that a woman official of the Ugandan High Commission had met law Minister Somnath Bharti and had given him a letter written by an official of the Mission to the Government in Uganda detailing about how a woman from his country had been brought to Delhi and forced into a prostitution racket. The CM claimed the Ugandan official welcomed their campaign on the issue.
Rejecting Shinde’s statement that action against police officials can be taken only after an enquiry, the Chief Minister demanded immediate suspension of the cops.
Kejriwal also criticised a section of the media, the Congress and the BJP for describing the action of AAP leaders as ‘vigilantism’. He also referred to the allegation made by former Union Home Secretary RK Singh against Shinde that he was involved in the transfer of SHOs in Delhi.
45-year-old Kejriwal told the crowd that he had come prepared to sit on a dharna for at least 10 days. The dharna has sent shock waves among the parents of those children who are to take part in the rehearsal for Republic Day celebrations. Worried parents started calling Police Control Room complaining that a situation akin to December 16-2012 protest was being witnessed at Rajpath.
Fearing protests, around 2,000 police personnel, including those from Rapid Action Force (RAF) and RPF, were deployed in the lutyen’s Zone. The Delhi Police imposed heavy restrictions near Parliament House by either completely closing or heavily barricading streets leading to inconvenience for commuters.
Portions of Rafi Marg, Krishna Menon Marg, Rajendra Prasad Road, Talkatora Road, Tilak Marg, Rakabganj Road and Dalhousie Road, Rajpath, Janpath, all leading to North Block, were closed for vehicular traffic, causing gridlock on all arterial roads. Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhavan and Race Course Metro stations remained closed from 9 am to 1 pm. But later Metro officials said the stations would remain closed until further orders.
On Monday morning, after attending a cabinet meeting in Delhi Secretariat, Kejriwal, along with his supporters, started at 10.50 for North Block. However, he was prevented by security personnel from doing so as he reached Rail Bhavan. He waited in his car for more than half-an-hour as rehearsal for Republic Day parade was in progress. As the police did not allow him to move further, he declared to sit on a dharna at that spot itself.