AAP leaders fast together in opposition to Arvind Kejriwal’s detention

Leading members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convened at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Sunday for a one-day fast in protest of Arvind Kejriwal, the party’s national convener and the chief minister of Delhi, being arrested, according to news agency PTI.

Party leaders stated that comparable demonstrations were taking place by Indians overseas and in other states as well, including Harvard Square in Boston, the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, outside the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC, New York Times Square, Toronto, London, and Melbourne, among other locations, according to PTI.

According to PTI, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of the AAP-ruled Punjab participated in a communal fast in the village of liberation hero Bhagat Singh, Khatkar Kalan.

The ‘Samuhik Upwas’ took place in Jantar Mantar in the national capital starting at 11 am and was attended by several high-ranking AAP politicians, including Speaker of the Delhi Assembly Ram Niwas Goel, Deputy Speaker Rakhi Bila, and Ministers Atishi, Gopal Rai, and Imran Hussain, according to PTI.

Gopal Rai, the leader of the AAP’s Delhi chapter, urged people to participate in the fast in opposition to Kejriwal’s detention. He said that the detention of Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate in a case related to the scandal involving the Delhi excise policy was a component of the BJP’s plot to destroy the AAP.

Kejriwal is detained by the courts till April 15.

Sandeep Kumar, a former AAP MLA, has petitioned the Delhi High Court to have Arvind Kejriwal, the party’s leader who was detained, removed from his position as chief minister of the nation’s capital.

The hearing for the petition is scheduled on Monday before Justice Subramonium Prasad.

In his appeal, Kumar claimed that Kejriwal had been “incapacitated” to perform the duties of the chief minister as prescribed by the Constitution after his detention by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to a money-laundering case involving the now-cancelled excise scheme for Delhi.

The appeal claims that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader’s “unavailability” undermines the constitutional framework and that the Constitution’s mandate prohibits him from serving as chief minister while incarcerated.

“The Constitution’s Article 239AA(4) assigns the Chief Minister as the chairman of the Council of Ministers, whose role it is to assist and counsel the lieutenant governor in carrying out his duties with regard to subjects on which the legislative Assembly may pass legislation. According to the petition, the chief minister must be a free person who is accessible to provide the lieutenant governor with assistance and advice in accordance with the Constitution. Without him, these things would be nearly impossible.

“Issue a writ of quo warranto against Respondent No.1 i.e. Mr Arvind Kejriwal, the incumbent chief minister of Delhi, by calling upon him to show by what authority, qualification and title he holds the office of the chief minister of Delhi under Article 239AA of the Constitution and after an inquiry, dislodge him from the office of the chief minister of Delhi with or without the retrospective effect,” the petition asks.