Condemning the detention of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia by Delhi Police after an ex-serviceman's suicide, the AAP on Wednesday said the central government had imposed an "undeclared emergency" in Delhi.
"The way two elected representatives, and that too the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, have been detained by police is a black day in democratic India's history and is just like the Emergency," Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas said at a press conference here.
AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said while he was not even born when the Emergency was imposed in the country in 1975, he witnessed it on Wednesday in Delhi.
"What crime did Kejriwal and Sisodia commit that they were detained? Was it a crime to meet the grieving family of an ex-servicemen who committed suicide? It seems undeclared emergency has been imposed in Delhi," he said.
"Is exposing the lies of the Prime Minister on 'One Rank One Pension' a crime? Why were the family members of the ex-serviceman dragged and beaten by police?" Chadha asked.
Kejriwal, Sisodia and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi were detained on Wednesday after a defence force veteran Ram Kishan Grewal allegedly committed suicide over the scheme to equalise pension for ex-servicemen.
Kejriwal and Gandhi were detained amid demonstrations in the heart of the capital after they tried to meet the grieving family of Grewal, who ended his life here on Tuesday evening.
Grewal, 70, formerly of Rajputana Rifles, allegedly took poison at a park in support of the demand for the immediate implementation of the OROP.
Grewal's son Jaswant said he, his younger brother and brother-in-law were beaten and taken to a police station when they tried to meet Gandhi. Demanding justice, he said he had never witnessed such police conduct vis-a-vis veterans' families.
As the tug of war played out, the Bharatiya Janata Party accused Gandhi and Kejriwal of politicising the OROP scheme announced last year.
--IANS
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