AAP Delhi ministers Atishi Marlena Singh and Saurabh Bharadwaj were detained by the police at ITO in Delhi on Friday morning after the party workers and leaders staged massive protests against the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday evening. The AAP supporters are currently protesting at ITO near AAP and BJP headquarters.
Delhi Police asked the protesting party leaders and workers to disperse as section 144 was imposed in the area.
After being detained, Bharadwaj alleged that Kejriwal's family has been put under house arrest. "We will state before the Supreme Court that Arvind Kejriwal should be allowed to meet his lawyer and family and also allowed to carry out his official work," he was seen shouting from the bus he was detained in.
Delhi Education Minister Atishi Singh was also seen protesting after which she was detained by the Delhi Police this morning.
This came in after AAP called for nationwide protests after the party's national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday evening in connection with an excise policy case linked money laundering case. The call was made by the AAP's Delhi unit convenor Gopal Rai on Thursday stating that Kejriwal's arrest is the "murder of democracy" and an "announcement of dictatorship."
Following the announcement of protests, the Delhi Police urged people not to jeopardise the law and order of the national capital and maintain peace. It also warned that strict action will be taken against "lawbreakers."
The police had closed all roads leading to the AAP headquarters as part of the security arrangements ahead of the protests. Water cannons and paramilitary forces were also deployed along the DDU road, which leads to the BJP headquarters.
According to the Delhi Metro, the ITO Metro station will remain closed from 8 am to 6 pm today.
While announcing the protests, Rai launched scathing attacks at the BJP for planning Kejriwal's arrest and stated that it was a "direct assault on democracy."
He stated: "The BJP orchestrated the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal through various agencies... This is a direct assault on democracy". The protests are scheduled to commence at 10 am today, targeting the BJP's role in Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED)."
Rai welcomed everyone to join the protests saying that " whoever is against the dictatorship all are welcome to join."
AAP leader Atishi Singh also assured support from INDIA Bloc members and added: "We have applied the Supreme Court against the illegal arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. It will be mentioned in the Supreme Court tomorrow morning. We hope that the Supreme Court will protect democracy."
Meanwhile, in Ernakulam, AAP activists already staged a protest against the ED following Kejriwal's arrest in the Excise Policy Case.
The Supreme Court will likely hear Kejriwal's plea against his arrest in the afternoon today. A three-judge bench comprising of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Bela M Trivedi, and MM Sundresh will likely hear Arvind Kejriwal's plea.