The Mumbai Police on Sunday detained several Aam Aadmi Party members who were protesting against the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and six other AAP MPs merging with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s legislature party in the Upper House of Parliament.
The AAP’s Mumbai leader Ruben Mascarenhas, who was among those detained ahead of the planned protest on Sunday, alleged that this was done to prevent the demonstration.
Mascarenhas told Scroll that he had written to the police a day earlier, informing them of the party’s plan to protest outside Chadha’s Mumbai home and had received an acknowledgement on Sunday morning.
However, he alleged that police personnel arrived at his house at about 1.45 pm, ahead of the planned protest at 3.30 pm, and prevented him from leaving. He was later detained.
“I am not being allowed to leave [my house],” Mascarenhas said on social media earlier in the day. “This is illegal and unacceptable.”
He said that he was taken to the Khar police station along with others before being released.
A police officer confirmed that Mascarenhas and some others had been taken to the police station but did not provide further details, PTI reported.
Despite the restrictions, about 50 AAP volunteers staged a protest, Mascarenhas said.
The police had blocked roads leading to Chadha’s home in Khar, restricting vehicular movement and preventing any gathering near the site, PTI reported.
As access to the area was curtailed, AAP volunteers initially gathered at the Bandra railway station before a group held a protest outside Chadha’s home.
AAP Mumbai’s chief Preeti Sharma Menon alleged that the police had disrupted a peaceful demonstration.
“Mumbai Police has no other work but to guard Raghav Chadha’s Mumbai residence,” Menon said on social media. “Volunteers were prevented from protesting peacefully…But BJP is allowed to block roads at their whim.”
On Friday, Chadha announced that seven of the party’s 10 Rajya Sabha MPs were merging with the BJP. He claimed that two-thirds of AAP’s members in the Upper House supported the move, which he said was in line with constitutional provisions allowing such a merger.
Chadha made the announcement at a press conference with AAP MPs Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal. However, he claimed that other AAP MPs Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal were supporting the decision to merge with the BJP. Except Maliwal, all other MPs had been elected from Punjab, where the AAP is in power.
On Sunday, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said that he has submitted a petition to Rajya Sabha Chairperson CP Radhakrishnan seeking the disqualification of the seven AAP MPs.
The AAP had 10 members in the Rajya Sabha before the split and has three MPs in the Lok Sabha.
Just 0.2% of readers pay for news. The others don’t care if it dies. You can help make a difference. Support independent journalism – join Scroll now.
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!