Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi said on Saturday that the party’s Delhi office has been “sealed” off from all sides and that the party will report the issue to the Election Commission.
The claim that the AAP office was sealed was denied by a Delhi Police officer. Since CrPC section 144 is enforced at DDU Marg, police officers were dispatched to break up the crowd, according to the officer.
“How can access to a national party’s office be stopped during the Lok Sabha election? This (is) against the ‘level playing field’ promised in the Indian Constitution. We are seeking time with the Election Commission (EC) to complain against this,” the Delhi minister said in her post.
Saurabh Bharadwaj, a minister in Delhi and another prominent AAP leader, claimed that the Union government had barred all access to the party office. We’re going to talk to EC. He said in a post on X that “the Central government has closed all access to the AAP head office at ITO, that too in Model Code of Conduct.”
AAP leaders further claimed that Atishi was prevented from going home by the police stopping her close to Barakhambha Road.
Bharadwaj stated at a press conference that the Election Commission ought to function as an impartial body and make sure that police officers face harsh consequences.
The AAP office at ITO in central Delhi was also blocked during a protest by party leaders and volunteers against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest near the BJP headquarters on Friday.
According to Bharadwaj, Atishi and he were prevented from entering the party headquarters. He questioned how the office of a national party could be sealed off during an election. Bharadwaj further asserted that the police had stopped the car carrying Atishi on his way home.
In another video that Atishi shared on X, she can be seen arguing with a Delhi Police officer while some AAP leaders protest by lying down in the road after the police stopped them.
In an X post, she stated that in order to guarantee fairness in the Lok Sabha elections, the AAP has requested an immediate meeting with the Election Commission. Atishi added that the IT department had raided the home of AAP Matiala MLA Gulab Singh.
However, the police officer said, “The AAP office was never sealed by police. Police personnel are deployed as (CrpC) section 144 is imposed and any kind of gathering is prohibited at DDU Marg”.
Additionally, the officer stated that Atishi and her friends were not prevented from returning home. He claimed, “They were stopped to find out if they were going to hold any protests or gatherings, as section 144 is imposed throughout the district of New Delhi.”
