Delhi BJP workers staged a protest near the AAP headquarters on DDU Marg here on Wednesday, demanding resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the alleged excise scam. The BJP has stepped up pressure on the Delhi chief minister, asking him to resign in the wake of the high court order. Kejriwal's plea against his arrest and remand in a money laundering case linked to the now scrapped excise policy of his government, was rejected by the Delhi High Court on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, members and supporters of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) globally have observed a day of protest and fasting in solidarity with party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency. He is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail. AAP volunteers in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia gathered in front of Indian embassies and popular locations on Monday to protest Kejriwal’s arrest and call for his immediate release, a media release said.
“Arvind Kejriwal is a symbol of hope for millions of Indians who are fighting for a more just and equitable society,” said AAP member Jeswanth Reddy from Los Angeles. “His arrest is an attack on democracy and the right to dissent. We will not be silenced.” AAP volunteers in Washington DC held a vigil in front of the Indian Embassy, while AAP members and supporters in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Dublin, Berlin, Oslo and Melbourne among others organised a day-long hunger strike in prominent locations to bring attention to the threat to democracy and plight of opposition leaders in India.