Protests were held in various parts of Gujarat by leaders and party workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress on Friday in response to the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Demonstrations took place in major cities like Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, and Bhavnagar, resulting in the detention of around 130 protesters, including AAP Gujarat president Isudan Gadhvi and party MLAs Umesh Makwana and Hemant Khava.
In Ahmedabad, AAP and Congress workers gathered near Lal Darwaja area and protested against the BJP government at the Centre for allegedly framing Kejriwal in a false case. Isudan Gadhvi stated, “There is absolutely no evidence against Kejriwal. First, they incarcerated Manish Sisodia and now Kejriwal out of political vendetta. ED officials who used to extort money from people through electoral bonds have arrested a popular CM.” Gadhvi and about 20 other protestors were detained by the city police.
In Surat, a group of AAP and Congress workers and leaders were also detained for staging unauthorized protests on the road. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Surat city) Bhakti Thakar mentioned, “We have detained nearly 20 persons for staging protests on the road without permission. Model Code of Conduct is in force and a notification has also been issued by police banning assembly of more than four persons.”
The detained individuals included AAP corporator Parul Sakaria and Congress’ Lok Sabha candidate for Surat seat Nilesh Kumbhani.
In Rajkot, around 70 protesters, led by AAP MLA Hemant Khava, were detained for demonstrations at Kisaan Para Chowk.
Similarly, in Bhavnagar city, police detained about 20 AAP and Congress workers, including AAP MLA Umesh Makwana, for protesting against Kejriwal’s arrest. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case related to excise policy.
Kejriwal’s name has appeared multiple times in the charge sheets filed by the ED, alleging that the accused were in contact with Kejriwal to devise the excise policy, resulting in undue benefits in exchange for kickbacks to the AAP.