A blame-game has started after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Dinesh Mohaniya was whisked away by police in the middle of a press conference in south Delhi on Saturday after an FIR was registered on 22 June by a woman alleging misbehaviour. Mohaniya was detained in Neb Sarai police station after police picked him up. Later, a court sent Mohaniya to judicial custody till 27 June. After the 22 June FIR, another FIR was registered against Mohaniya in which a senior citizen accused the AAP legislator of physical assault. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) maintained that the arrest was made as per law, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted and called the arrest Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “unannounced state of emergency”.
However, Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay said: “The law is doing its work. There is no jungle raj in Delhi. Ministers are people chosen by the public, they are to be held accountable for it. There have been two FIRs in three days against one man. Police will obviously take due action.” Replying to Kejriwal’s “emergency” tweet, Upadhayay said, “Why should we react to any such remark? He can make nonsense comments, but we don’t need to reply to them. A man is showcasing the worst behaviour possible, hitting women and manhandling senior citizens. If police is taking action against such a person, it is in the interest of the people.”
Deepak Bajpai, AAP spokesperson, said, “Good to know that the police is proactive in Delhi, but it is unfortunate that it works only for the BJP. This is Modi’s unannounced state of emergency. He is afraid of AAP and is using the Delhi Police to protect himself. The real motive behind Mohaniya’s dramatic arrest is to divert attention from M.M. Khan’s
murder.”
Asked if AAP acknowledges the two FIRs registered against Mohaniya, Bajpai said, “There is no truth in those FIRs. We stand in support of our man.”