AAP leaders protest in Goa against arrest of Kejriwal

Panaji, March 21 (PTI) Several AAP leaders on Friday held a protest march in Goa against the arrest of their national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate, saying the BJP was scared of him.

Led by Goa AAP president Amit Palekar and party MLAs Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva, the protesters marched near the Margao bus stand and shouted slogans outside the BJP’s South Goa office.

Talking to reporters, Palekar said Kejriwal was arrested as BJP is scared of him. AAP volunteers have protested across India, he said.

“Kejriwal is not just a person but a thought. He may be arrested but the thought cannot be restrained,” he said.

The ED arrested Kejriwal in an excise policy-linked money laundering case on Thursday night, prompting protests by AAP leaders.

The AAP Goa chief called the ED an extended arm of the ruling BJP.

The BJP has realised that its dream of “Ab ki baar, 400 paar” in the Lok Sabha elections won’t be fulfilled, he said. “That is why they are busy trying to silence the opposition,” Palekar said.

He urged AAP volunteers to keep protesting. “BJP’s end is nearing,” he said, adding that the ruling party is banking on “unholy alliances” to save itself from embracing defeat.

“BJP has become a cult which follows one person and others don’t have a voice,” he said.

Kejriwal spent the night at the ED office in central Delhi after his arrest in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case on Thursday night.