Aam Aadmi Party supporters on Sunday held daylong fasts across the country demanding the release of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain who are behind bars awaiting trial in the Delhi excise scam case.
The party said its supporters among the Indian diaspora also held fasts in 15 cities across Canada, the US, the UK and Australia.
Senior AAP leaders, including Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla, ministers Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Kailash Gahlot and Imran Hussain attended the daylong “Samuhik Upwas” at Jantar Mantar from 11am. Volunteers and supporters who joined the fast sang patriotic songs and waved posters of Kejriwal behind bars.
Addressing the protesters, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh —recently released on bail in the case — hit out at the BJP for demanding the resignation of the Kejriwal government. “Manipur has been burning for a year. A Kargil hero’s wife was paraded naked in Manipur. The BJP is carrying that Manipur chief minister on its shoulders and roaming around. Ajay Mishra Teni, whose son (allegedly) kills farmers by crushing them under a jeep, can remain the minister of state for home affairs of the country. And they are demanding resignation from an honest leader like Arvind Kejriwal.”
Pointing out the BJP’s subpar performance in Assembly polls, Singh asked supporters not to be overwhelmed by the BJP’s rhetoric. “They gave the slogan of crossing 45 in Delhi, they got eight seats. In Haryana, the slogan of crossing 75 was given but they got 40 seats. In Bengal, they gave the slogan of crossing 200 but got only 50 seats,” Singh added.
The BJP held a counter-protest at Rajiv Chowk nearby, showcasing a replica of Kejriwal’s extravagant bungalow on Flagstaff Road.
In Punjab, chief minister Bhagwant Mann fasted at Khatkar Kalan, the native village of Bhagat Singh. “These people (BJP) have become the masters of the country who have rejected the sacrifices of the martyrs… They have started to snub the voice of the Opposition through the fear of raids by the ED, CBI, income tax department and the NIA,” Mann said.
Similar protests were held by Indians abroad at Harvard Square in Boston, the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, at New York’s Times Square, Toronto, London and Melbourne, the AAP said.
