NEW DELHI: Delhi minister
Saurabh Bharadwaj
challenged the BJP to arrest all
AAP
leaders together instead of jailing them one by one, following the arrest of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's former aide,
Bibhav Kumar
, in connection with the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal.
Bharadwaj accused the Delhi Police of denying permission for a planned march to the BJP's national headquarters on Sunday, claiming they were acting under the orders of the central government.
"All our big leaders are being thrown behind bars. Though Arvind Kejriwal is out on bail for 22 days, they are conspiring every day to frame us in false cases and put more of our leaders behind bars. If PM Modi thinks he can crush and finish off the AAP by putting our leaders in jail, he is mistaken. We are gathering outside the BJP headquarters at noon today. Instead of throwing our leaders in jail one after the other, let them arrest us all at once," Bhardwaj said.
"Police did not give us permission to march to the BJP office. What else can we expect from Delhi Police? They are only doing the bidding of the Centre. If they do not comply with the dictates of the central government, they will either be transferred, suspended or booked in false cases," the AAP leader claimed.
The political showdown and protests come in the wake of the arrest of Kejriwal's former personal secretary, Bibhav Kumar, in connection with the alleged assault on Swati Maliwal. Kejriwal accused PM Modi of engaging in a "Jail ka Khel" against the AAP and announced his intention to lead a 'Jail Bharo' march to the BJP's national headquarters on Sunday, accompanied by top party leaders and workers.
Bibhav Kumar, who was arrested and remanded in police custody for five days, had earlier emailed the Delhi Police expressing his willingness to cooperate in the ongoing investigation into Maliwal's assault claim. He also lodged a counter-complaint against Maliwal, accusing her of gaining unauthorized entry into the CM's residence, verbally abusing him, and making threats, while alleging the BJP's involvement in the matter. Maliwal, in her complaint, alleged that Bibhav had slapped her multiple times and brutally dragged and kicked her.
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