Punjab: AAP holds protest in Mohali, demands Kejriwal's release

Chandigarh, Jul 30 (PTI) Punjab's ruling party AAP on Tuesday held a protest in Mohali against the arrest of party supremo Arvind Kejriwal and accused the BJP-led Centre of putting him behind bars without any "fault".

Kejriwal, who is also the Delhi chief minister, was arrested by ED on March 21 in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. The Supreme Court has granted him interim bail but he is still in jail as the CBI had arrested him in a related matter.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring to kill Kejriwal in jail and has cited his medical report to show that his sugar levels have fallen 34 times between June 3 and July 7.

In a state-level protest held in Mohali, many senior AAP leaders and ministers participated in the agitation, raising slogans against the central government and demanding the release of Kejriwal.

Addressing a gathering of party workers, cabinet minister Laljit Singh Bhullar claimed that it has happened for the first time that a national party chief who is also a chief minister was sent to jail without any "fault".

He alleged that "fake" cases have been registered against Kejriwal at the behest of the BJP-led Centre.

Cabinet minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian alleged that the Centre was using central agencies, such as the Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation, as a "weapon" to target opposition party leaders.

The central agencies have not been able to prove any charge against Kejriwal, the agriculture minister said, adding that the AAP chief gave new direction to politics in the country.

Punjab AAP spokesperson Neel Garg said everybody knows that Kejriwal is an honest politician "but he has been put behind bars under a political conspiracy".

Another minister Harbhajan Singh said they have assembled here to register their protest against the "dictatorial" attitude of the BJP-led Centre, which put Kejriwal in jail "without any fault".

"That day is not far when Kejriwal will come out and lead us again," he said.

Cabinet minister Balkar Singh called the BJP-led NDA dispensation a "dictatorial government" for registering "false" cases against the AAP national convener.

He said Kejriwal "sacrificed" everything to serve people. PTI CHS BHJ BHJ