Dramatic Visuals from Delhi Amid AAP vs BJP Showdown; Kejriwal Skips 5th ED Summons

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal skipped the fifth summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning on Friday in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy, according to party sources.

The Delhi CM participated in a protest along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann today (February 2) against the alleged ‘vote ki chori’ (stealing of votes) in Chandigarh mayoral polls. Kejriwal led the protest outside the AAP headquarters in Delhi.

Speaking at the protest site, both Kejriwal and Mann launched scathing attacks on the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

“Today’s protest should not have happened. If BJP’s intentions were clear, there would have been no need for this (protest). You all witnessed how AAP votes were declared invalid,” Mann said.

“BJP stole votes in Chandigarh Mayor elections. These people are a threat to the democracy of the country. Even if we have to take to the streets to save democracy and the country, we will take to the streets,” said Kejriwal.

After that, both leaders, along with AAP workers, marched towards the BJP headquarters. Kejriwal urged his party workers to march “peacefully and stop wherever the police ask them to.”

In a setback to the Congress and the AAP — both INDIA bloc members — the BJP on Tuesday swept the Chandigarh mayoral polls. The AAP-Congress combine alleged that the presiding officer had tampered with the ballot papers.

Security Up In Parts Of Delhi

Meanwhile, the BJP is also protesting in Delhi against the “corruption” in the Arvind Kejriwal government. BJP workers broke police barricades as they marched towards the AAP office.

In view of AAP and the BJP’s demonstrations, security has been stepped up in Central Delhi with multi-layered barricading and deployment of additional personnel. The roads heading to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg have been closed since morning and multi-layered barricades were set up near the party offices of BJP and AAP, an official said.

The headquarters of both parties are on the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg and the distance between them is less than a few hundred metres. The police official said arrangements have been made in such a way that the workers of both parties cannot come face-to-face.

Traffic movement was hit on the Deen Dayal Upadhayay Marg. Police said diversions are being affected for the convenience of commuters.

Meanwhile, Delhi Education Minister Atishi has claimed that buses full of AAP volunteers are being detained in the national capital ahead of the protest. She also said that AAP legislators are being ‘house arrested’ and there is heavy deployment of security forces outside AAP’s office.

In a post on X, Delhi CM Kejriwal also said that people coming to take part in AAP’s protest are being stopped at various places across the city.

ED’s 5th Summons To Kejriwal

The ED issued a fresh and fifth summons to Kejriwal on Wednesday after he skipped four earlier summonses issued by the federal agency over the last four months. The summons came as ED arrested Hemant Soren on Wednesday minutes after he tendered his resignation as Jharkhand Chief Minister.

Kejriwal skipped ED summonses for November 2 and December 21 in 2023 and January 3 and January 18 this year. He had called these notices “illegal”.

Though the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) remained tight-lipped about whether the Delhi CM will appear before the probe agency, sources in the party said that he is likely to skip the summons this time too.

The AAP has maintained that its legal team is studying the summons issued to Kejriwal in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case.

It is alleged that the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by the AAP.

The policy was subsequently scrapped and Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe, following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Over 200 Workers of AAP, BJP Detained During Protest

Over 200 workers of AAP and BJP were detained on Friday afternoon while they were marching towards each other’s offices at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg here, police said.

“We had already made elaborate arrangements with multi-layered barricades to stop the workers from reaching to the party offices. About 150 workers from AAP and 60 from BJP have been detained and taken to separate police stations in buses,” an official said.

While the AAP staged a protest over alleged cheating in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the BJP protested against “corruption” in the Arvind Kejriwal government.

Traffic Diversions

The headquarters of both the parties are on the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) Marg and the distance between them is less than 800 metres. Traffic movement was affected on the DDU Marg and roads leading to it, with long jams witnessed at the ITO, a major intersection of the city.

With barricades put up on several areas in Central Delhi, other roads too saw traffic congestion. “Movement of traffic is restricted on DDU Marg due to demonstrations. Traffic is heavy on Vikas Marg, IP Marg, Minto Road, JLN Marg and nearby areas due to diversion of traffic. Commuters are advised to avoid these stretches,” the Delhi Traffic Police posted on ‘X’.