PM residence 'gherao' march: AAP workers detained, party says Delhi now 'police state'

New Delhi: AAP workers on Tuesday marched to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence here in protest against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest but were prevented from moving forward by police, who detained several protesters including Punjab Minister Harjot Singh Bains and Delhi Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla.

On its part, the BJP marched to the Delhi Secretariat demanding Kejriwal's resignation. To disperse the saffron party's workers, police resorted to using water cannons and took into custody over 50 people, including the party's Delhi chief Virendra Sachdeva.

AAP protesters, including Bains, Birla, and New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency candidate and MLA Somnath Bharti, were detained near Patel Chowk, approximately five kilometres from Modi's official residence on Lok Kalyan Marg.

Protesters were heard chanting slogans such as 'Inquilab Zindabad' and 'Kejriwal Zindabad' as they gathered, while police announced the imposition of prohibitory orders in several areas of the capital, including around Patel Chowk.

AAP Delhi chief and Minister Gopal Rai alleged that Delhi Police has turned the national capital into a "fortress" and that the capital city has become a "police state".

"I want to warn the Centre that this movement will not stop with the use of police force," Rai said.

Police had stepped up security in the capital to deal with AAP protests after the arrest of Kejriwal in a money laundering case.

The BJP protest witnessed the participation of senior leaders such as Harsh Vardhan, who joined the protest march from Feroz Shah Kotla to the Delhi Secretariat. They demanded Kejriwal's resignation, with Harsh Vardhan emphasising the need for Kejriwal to step down on "moral grounds" and hand over his responsibilities to someone else.

"To disperse the protestors, water cannons were used. Some of them were detained from near the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg when they tried to break through a layer of barricades," an official said.

BJP leaders also raised objections to Kejriwal issuing directives to his ministers while in ED custody. BJP National Secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa argued that a Chief Minister cannot issue directives while in custody and accused the AAP of orchestrating a drama.