AAP writes to EC, says demonstration was not pre-planned

The Aam Aadmi Party replied to the Election Commission (EC) notice on Friday, stating that its protests outside the BJP office on Wednesday were not pre-planned. The party said in a letter the protests were an instant reaction to the detention of Arvind Kejriwal in Gujarat. “We respect the model code of conduct and will help the EC in implementing the same,” stated the letter.

The Regional Election Officer had written to the party after it had demonstrated outside the BJP office leading to clash between the activists of the two parties.

"The Model Code of Conduct came into force yesterday andpermission has to be sought from the competent authority for holding any kindof gathering or procession which is related to election issue," New Delhi's DEO Ameya Abhyankar had told news agency PTI on Thursday.

AAP had staged a demonstration outside the BJP office on Wednesday after their party chief Kejriwal was briefly detained by the Gujarat police alleging a violation in the model code of conduct. The EC had announced the election dates on Wednesday morning.