At BJP counter-protest, water cannons used to clear crowd

New Delhi: Delhi Police used water cannons to disperse BJP workers who took out a march on Tuesday demanding the resignation of CM Arvind Kejriwal. Around 57 protesters, including Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, were detained. Police had not granted permission for the march citing the imposition of Section 144 of CrPC, which prohibits assembly of people, in the city. The detained people were released later in the day.Estimated to be around 700-strong, the protesters began marching from Feroz Shah Kotla to Delhi Secretariat via ITO around 12.30pm. Holding up placards, the BJP protesters began gathering at the metro station there in the morning, shouting slogans demanding Kejriwal’s resignation as CM.Addressing the crowd, Sachdeva said that the Arvind Kejriwal government was now illegal. “The way Kejriwal is insisting on continuing as CM from jail not only violates ethical politics, but also shows that he considers government and party his personal fiefdom,” Sachdeva alleged. “Kejriwal is not the first ruling political leader to be arrested on corruption charges. There is the recent example of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and an old example of Tamil Nadu CM J. Jayalalitha being arrested on corruption charges. They both resigned.” Sachdeva also recalled how the late Madan Lal Khurana resigned as Delhi CM post when his name cropped up in the famous hawala case.Manoj Tiwari, North East Delhi MP, accused Kejriwal of looting Delhi by not taking charge of any govt department, thus avoiding responsibility and accountability. “It’s being said that Kejriwal sent a message from jail about the need to fix the city's sewage system and water problem. He, thus, admitted that in nine years of AAP rule, not much work has been done. Delhi will never forgive a CM who misled people by lying daily,” he alleged.The swelling crowd of protesters then planned a march to the Central Secretariat. Police beefed up the security and swiftly erected barricades in the area, saying under Section 144 CrPC, assembly of people was prohibited. Personnel of central reserve police forces along with anti-riot vehicles were deployed on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.As tensions escalated, the protestors attempted to breach the barricades, prompting police to deploy water cannons to scatter the crowd. Despite the forceful dispersal, the BJP workers continued to shout slogans. Police then began detaining them and ferrying them away in buses.A police officer said, “Adequate force was deployed and barricades were installed to stop the protesters. Security measures were also heightened at the Delhi Secretariat and ITO. Fifty-seven people, among them Sachdeva, were taken to the Kamla Market police station.”
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