Aam Aadmi Party MLA Kuldeep Kumar was detained on Wednesday for protesting against a demolition drive in Delhi’s Kalyanpuri area, reported ANI. The drive was conducted by the Bharatiya Janata Party-run East Delhi Municipal Corporation.

Kumar accused the BJP of hooliganism and said that other party workers had also been detained.

“These people [residents of Kalyanpuri] have valid documents, we will not let them be treated unjustly,” Kumar said, according to ANI.

A police official told PTI that adequate security arrangements have been made to ensure that the demolition drive is carried out smoothly.

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“Our responsibility is to maintain law and order and ensure that no untoward incident occurs during the drive,” he added.

The three civic bodies in Delhi, ruled by the BJP, have carried out anti-encroachment drives in several parts of the city since last month. However, political parties and activists have accused the BJP of targeting Muslim-dominated areas.

Aam Aadmi Party members as well as other Opposition leaders have vehemently opossed these demolition drives. Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan was arrested on May 12 for protesting against the drive in the city’s Madanpur Khadar area.

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On May 8, a first information report was filed against Khan was allegedly obstructing the demolition drive in Shaheen Bagh.

The civic body has so far razed structures in several parts of the city, including Jahangirpuri, Tughlakabad, Mangolpuri, New Friends Colony, Najafgarh, West Zone, Janakpuri and Chaukhandi.

The Jahangirpuri demolitions were carried out on April 20, just four days after the locality was hit by communal violence. The drive had continued for a few hours despite a stay order from the Supreme Court. Almost all the structures targeted were owned by Muslims.

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