NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged a pattern of arrests targeting its workers in Gujarat ahead of local body elections, with its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal writing to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel seeking a meeting and claiming the actions were part of a “pre-planned conspiracy” to weaken the party.
In a letter issued on Thursday, Kejriwal said more than 160 party workers had been arrested in the past three months and that the pace of detentions had increased in recent days.
He linked the development to the upcoming civic polls, stating that “the Gujarat Police’s action has intensified before the local body elections, giving the impression that the BJP wants to win elections with the help of police”.
Kejriwal described what he called a recurring pattern in recent cases, alleging that party workers were stopped on the road by unidentified individuals, followed by police intervention that led to their arrest under serious charges.
Citing incidents in Khambhalia, Porbandar and Jamnagar between March 30 and 31, he claimed that in each case, AAP workers were booked while those who initiated the confrontation were not proceeded against.