AAP workers took to the streets against the arrest of Sanjay Singh

AAP workers on Thursday staged a protest in central Delhi decrying the arrest of Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who was taken in custody in connection with the excise policy case. Several leaders and workers gathered at AAP party office on DDU marg, holding banners and raising slogans against the BJP and demanding release of Sanjay Singh.

Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Dependra Pathak said they have made adequate arrangements to contain the protesters. “We have made proper arrangements and there are enough police personnel. We do not want law and order to deteriorate at any cost. We have been constantly communicating with the cadre (of AAP),” he said.

Aam Aadmi Party leaders Atishi, Gopal Rai, Jarnail Singh, Priyanka Kakkar and Reena Gupta were among those present at the protest. Rai alleged that Singh’s arrest was an attempt by the BJP to win the upcoming elections as they do not have faith in their alliance.

The AAP on Thursday accused the Centre of trying to silence its MP Sanjay Singh by arresting him and challenged the BJP-led Union government to make public any evidence they have against him.

Senior AAP leader Atishi claimed that over 500 officers of the ED and CBI conducted raids at several places linked to the AAP leaders in the last 15 months but “haven’t found a single evidence” against them.

“They raided Manish Sisodia’s residence, offices and several other places but they couldn’t find evidence of corruption of even a single penny. And now, Sanjay Singh has been targeted,” she said. “The ED officers raided every inch of Sanjay Singh’s residence but couldn’t find anything. They arrested him because he constantly raised issues of the Centre’s corruption,” she added.

Atishi said that if there is any evidence against Singh, the Centre “should make it public.” “I want to challenge the BJP that if they have found any evidence against Sanjay Singh, they should make it public or they should quit politics. They can send their officers anywhere where Sanjay Singh has been and I can vouch they will not find anything against him,” she claimed.

“We all know that whenever someone raises their voice against the government, there will be attempts to silence them. Since they couldn’t silence him, they arrested him. The BJP should know that AAP is not going to get scared of their arrest threats,” she said. The arrest of the 51-year-old Singh, who became the second high profile leader of the Aam Aadmi Party to be nabbed in the case relating to the now scrapped Excise policy after former Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia, has sparked a political slugfest between the Arvind Kejriwal-led party and the BJP.