AAP holds nationwide ‘mass fast’ to protest Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest

Anshita Mehra

New Delhi, April 7

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) held a nationwide daylong ‘Samuhik Upwas’, or mass fast, on Sunday to protest the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The main event took place at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar while similar protests were organised across the capital cities of 25 states. AAP leaders said the Indian diaspora too joined in at various foreign locations, including Harvard Square in Boston, Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, at New York Times Square and in Toronto, London and Melbourne. Senior AAP leaders, including Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, Deputy Speaker Rakhi Bila, and ministers Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Kailash Gahlot and Imran Hussain participated in the protest at Jantar Mantar from 11 am onwards.

Addressing the protesters, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who was released recently on bail after being arrested in October 2023 in the Delhi liquor policy case, said, “Arvind Kejriwal was, is and will remain honest.” He urged AAP volunteers to work diligently for the victory of party candidates and those of the INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha poll, aiming to remove Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah from power.

Delhi minister Atishi accused the BJP of resorting to “dictatorship” and predicted that the fast would cause “sleepless nights” for the saffron party. She claimed Kejriwal’s arrest had sparked anger among the people and would prove to be the “final nail in the coffin” for the BJP.