AAP Delhi office ‘blocked from all sides’, party leader Atishi says

Arvind Kejriwal arrested on Thursday night (File)

New Delhi:

Its senior leader Atish claimed on Saturday that the Aam Aadmi Party office in Delhi had been “blocked” from all sides and said the party would report the matter to the Election Commission.

She posted on X questioning the “closure” of party offices, saying it violated the concept of a “level playing field” for elections as promised in the Constitution.

“How can access to state party offices be blocked during the Lok Sabha elections? This is against the ‘level playing field’ promised by the Indian Constitution. We are seeking time to complain to the Election Commission (EC) about the matter,” the Delhi minister said in her post explain.

The Aam Aadmi Party office has been cordoned off from all sides. How can entry into state party offices be blocked during Lok Sabha elections? This goes against the “level playing field” promised by the Indian Constitution.

We are seeking time to work with the Electoral Commission… pic.twitter.com/wf9VdittvW

— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) March 23, 2024

We will contact the EC, the central government has closed all access to AAP at the ITO headquarters and the same is true in the Code of Conduct

— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) March 23, 2024

Another senior AAP leader, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that the Union government has blocked all access to the party’s offices.

“We will be in touch with the EC. The central government has closed all access to AAP at the ITO headquarters and the same is true in the Standard Code of Conduct,” he said in a post on X.

Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj said the Election Commission should act as a neutral body and ensure strict action against the police.

The AAP office on DDU Marg near ITO in central Delhi was also cordoned off on Friday when party leaders and volunteers staged a protest at the BJP headquarters, just meters in front of it, against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind ·Arvind Kejriwal.

Bharadwaj said two ministers, including himself and Atish, were prevented from going to the party office. How, he asked, could the offices of a national party be blocked during an election?

He also claimed that Atish’s vehicle returning home was stopped by police.

Atishi also posted a video on X in which she can be seen arguing with a Delhi police officer while some AAP leaders were lying on the road to protest against being stopped by the police.

Mr. Bharadwaj accused the police of sealing the AAP office and preventing party leaders from going there and said they would lodge a complaint with the EC over the matter. He claimed that the AAP office was cordoned off from all sides on Friday and no one was allowed to enter.

AAP national convener Mr Kejriwal was remanded to the Enforcement Directorate’s custody till March 28 after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday in connection with a money laundering case related to the Delhi government’s now-repeated GST policy.