The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday replied to the show cause notice issued by the District Election Officer (DEO) on the protest outside the BJP headquarters, saying it was an “instant reaction” to party convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s detention in Gujarat.
In its reply, the AAP said the protest was not a “planned event” and maintained that it respects the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in force ahead of Lok Sabha polls scheduled to begin from next month, officials said.
The protest was an instant reaction to the happenings in Gujarat and it was not any part of campaigning for party candidate, the party said.
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The party said it respects the MCC and will cooperate with Election Commission in implementing it.
The reply to the notice was filed to Ameya Abhiyankar, DEO by the party’s general secretary Pankaj Gupta.
“We have received the reply from Aam Aadmi Party. The reply is under examination. We will send our reports to the Election Commission tomorrow,” Mr. Abhiyankar told
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The AAP was served a notice by the DEO for alleged violation of the MCC over Wednesday’s violent protest outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.
The party was asked to reply within 24 hours as to why action should not be initiated against it for holding the protest without permission from poll officials and violating the poll code of conduct.
Delhi Police accuse AAP workers
In a related development, Delhi Police had in its report accused pro-AAP protesters of indulging in “riotous acts and using criminal force” to prevent it from discharging their duty with regard to Wednesday’s protest that had turned violent.
According to the report submitted, sub-inspector Sunil Kumar along with force from Parliament Street police station reached at the BJP headquarters and found that around 50 AAP activists had assembled.
He tried to persuade and pacify the protestors to go back but the crowd continued shouting slogans and in a short duration, the number AAP protestors swelled to 150-200, said the report.
Following this, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Parliament Street, Anyesh Roy reached the spot with extra force during which the protestors had started climbing the wall and the main gate and tore off the hoardings outside.
“The assembly was declared unlawful on the PA system and they were asked to disperse but the crowd continued to indulge into riotous acts and stone pelting,” the report stated.
With no alternative left, police has to resort to the usage of water cannons to disperse the crowd.
“The crowd further got aggressive and broke the glass panes of the vehicles, tore off the seats, broke the nozzle of the water after mounting over it. Further the unruly mob regrouped and moved towards the main gate of the BJP headquarters and started throwing sticks, stones upon few BJP workers assembled inside,” the report said.
In the melee, the cars parked outside also got damaged.
With reinforcement, including senior officers of New Delhi District, the crowd was controlled.
According to the report, four policemen, 16 AAP workers and nine BJP workers and one media person suffered injuries during the scuffle and were taken to the RML Hospital.
In connection with this incident, 14 protestors were arrested and FIR registered on charges of rioting, assaulting or obstructing public servant from discharging his duty and on charges of causing damage to property.
On Thursday, Delhi’s election department served a notice to the AAP for alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) over the violent protest outside the BJP headquarters.
New Delhi’s Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer, Ameya Abhyankar had asked the AAP to explain why action should not be initiated against it for holding a protest without permission from poll officials and in violation of the MCC, which came to force after the poll dates were announced.