New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged that he was jostled by a crowd of protesters this morning at the railway station in Delhi, from where he took a train to Punjab for a three-day visit. Describing it as a “huge security breach”, AAP accused the Delhi Police of compromising the Chief Minister’s security by “leaking” his schedule.
As the Chief Minister boarded a Shatabdi train to Ludhiana, women activists followed him, shouting slogans against sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar, who has been accused of rape by a woman who featured in a sex tape with him. Mr Kumar was arrested on the weekend and is in police lock-up.
Visuals showed Mr Kejriwal surrounded by supporters while walking to the platform and then climbing onto the train, as policemen tried to keep protesters away.
His deputy Manish Sisodia targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, saying the crowd at the station was part of a conspiracy.
“Why did this happen despite the police being informed about the Chief Minister’s schedule? He is pushed around in the presence of the police, and they were silent spectators. TV cameras had been called. It is obvious that this was planned,” Mr Sisodia tweeted in Hindi.
AAP also accused the police of leaving Mr Kejriwal unprotected.
Reports have quoted the Delhi police as saying that it will not be able to provide security to the Chief Minister during his Punjab tour as it does not have jurisdiction there.
“We have not refused him security. He is leaving Delhi for Punjab for five days. As per the security norms, if he travels by train or car, we are supposed to drop him at the first destination in that state and after that, the state police takes over,” the Press Trust of India quoted a senior Delhi Police official as saying.
In Punjab, where elections will be held next year, Mr Kejriwal will oversee selection of candidates amid allegations of corruption in AAP’s distribution of election ticket that led to the party sacking its Punjab chief Sucha Singh Chhotepur.
(Sourced from agencies, Feature image courtesy:oneindia.com)
