Fury erupted on the streets as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) protested over the arrest of MLA Amanatullah Khan, calling out the BJP for using ED-CBI to target opposition leaders. In a bold protest outside the BJP headquarters, AAP MLAs and supporters raised slogans about Amanatulllah Khan’s release where police stopped them by putting up barricades before the BJP headquarters. Senior leader Manish Sisodia condemned the BJP’s “Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed” tactics, vowing that AAP will never bow to political pressure.
Last Monday, AAP MLA from Okhla Amanatullah Khan was arrested by the ED in a fake Waqf Board case. In response, AAP leaders, MLAs, and a large number of workers gathered at their old office on Friday, as part of a pre-planned protest. From there, they marched to the BJP headquarters on Rouse Avenue, raising slogans like “Stop the misuse of ED-CBI, stop the illegal arrest of AAP leaders” and “ED-CBI ki manmani nahi chalegi.”
On this occasion, senior AAP leader and MLA Dilip Pandey, chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar along with MLA Rajesh Gupta, Rituraj Jha, Kuldeep Kumar, Ajesh Yadav, Haji Yunus, Mukesh Ahlawat, Ajay Dutt and a large number of workers were present.
Senior AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia shared on his ‘X’ handle (erstwhile Twitter), “To stay in power, BJP adopts the tactics of ‘Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed’ (by any means). First, it tries to break the party and when the party members do not break, it sends government agencies after the leaders. By doing this, governments have been formed by breaking parties in many states of India. In this sequence, after me, Arvind Kejriwal ji and many party leaders, now MLA Amanatullah Khan has been arrested. But the Aam Aadmi Party has never bowed down against the dictatorial rulers, nor will it ever bow down. We will keep fighting till our last breath to save the existence of India and the Constitution.”
Meanwhile, Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh shared, “Arrest after arrest, no truth in any case.ED-CBI are the illegal weapon of power, there is no proof against Amanatullah Khan he will come out soon.”
Senior AAP leader and MLA Dilip Pandey said, “The BJP’s blatant ‘goondagardi’ (hooliganism) and authoritarian politics is not hidden from anyone. If we look back at the case of Amanatullah Khan, we will understand that in 2016, the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) registered a case in this so-called Waqf Board scam. However, for six years, neither did the CBI arrest Amanatullah Khan, nor did they file any chargesheets. After six years, when they did file a chargesheet, the CBI itself mentioned in it that there was no financial corruption involved in the case.”
The AAP MLA further added that earlier, ACB had arrested Amanatullah in this case, but the High Court also said in its order that no financial corruption had taken place in this. That is, the BJP’s efforts failed twice and its political arrogance got a tight slap on its face. But despite doing all this, the BJP did not stop and it again sent ED after him.
The AAP MLA mentioned, “Whenever the ED sent a notice in this fabricated case, Amanatullah Khan responded. If he was summoned, he appeared, and if he couldn’t attend, he gave a written explanation as to why. This time, when the ED arrested Amanatullah Khan in this fake case, he asked for a little respite. Why did he ask for it? Because his mother-in-law has cancer, is bedridden, and he cited her illness while requesting a brief delay. But where do the BJP and ED have hearts that beat? These are very ruthless people. They paid no heed and forcefully arrested him in this fabricated case.”
Dilip Pandey highlighted, “We are here today to raise our voices against the BJP. And we want to tell them that the sooner they understand, the sooner they understand the pulse of the nation, the better it will be. Why? Because the people of this country have already reduced their inflated arrogance from over 400 to 240 seats. If they continue this dictatorship and hooliganism, arresting Aam Aadmi Party leaders and jailing them on false charges, they will be finished.”
“The AAP fought against your injustice yesterday and today, we are raising our voices for our rights and justice, and in the future, we will continue to fight with full strength. In this moment of struggle, every leader of AAP and the people of Delhi stand with Arvind Kejriwal, and they always will,” shared the AAP MLA.
AAP Chief Spokesperson (National) Priyanka Kakkar said that the BJP’s continuous misuse of agencies must be stopped. “Such negative politics must be stopped. The BJP is unable to win against the AAP in the election field, that’s why they arrest our leaders repeatedly before the elections and try to defame us,” she added.
The Chief AAP Spokesperson continued, “AAP leader Amanatullah Khan had already got bail in his case. There is no case of irregularity against him nor any evidence of taking or giving bribes. CBI investigated this case and it is written in their final charge sheet that there is no case against him. Now the ED has arrested him in the same case because it is difficult to get bail in ED cases.”
Priyanka Kakkar mentioned, “They arrest our leaders every time before the elections. Whether it is Sanjay Singh, who was kept in jail for six months, or Vijay Nair, who was released after 23 months in jail. He too was arrested before the elections. Former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia got bail after 17 months. CM Arvind Kejriwal and Satyendar Jain are in jail right now, they too will get bail soon. This is what scares the BJP that they will not be able to compete with AAP in the election field, they will not be able to come up with and implement policies like Arvind Kejriwal in any of their states, and that’s why they want to stop our work. They want to defame us by misusing the agencies. This country will not be governed with dictatorship, but democracy.”