As farm organisations, political parties and others across the country observe Bharat Bandh, the Aam Aadmi Party had announced it's intent to support the strike. To this end, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also met with the protesting farmers at the Singhu border on Monday. Since then however, a crisis appears to have cropped up.
In a tweet on Tuesday morning, the AAP alleged that the BJP was detaining the Chief Minister. "BJP's Delhi Police has put Hon'ble CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal under house arrest ever since he visited farmers at Singhu Border yesterday. No one has been permitted to leave or enter his residence," read the post.
In a press conference held soon after, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj elaborated on the allegation, stating that Kejriwal's residence had been barricaded and that "BJP leaders are being made to sit outside his residence".
Recounting the meeting with the farmers a day earlier, Bharadwaj said that the CM had said the party would "serve them like sevadars and support them". After Kejriwal's return, he alleges, the Delhi Police had barricaded the residence from all sides, creating a "house-arrest like situation at the behest of Home Ministry".
"No one is allowed to go inside, he is not allowed to come out. MLAs, who had a meeting with CM yesterday, were beaten up by Police when they went to meet him. Workers were not allowed to meet him either," he alleged.
In a series of tweets posted to his Twitter handle, Bharadwaj alleged that the Centre had exerted pressure to seek the imprisonment of the farmers in the Delhi stadium, to crush the farmers' protest.
"Even since the CM has supported the farmers, the Centre has been shocked," he added, reiterating the party's support for the agitation.
The police however have denied the claims of 'house arrest'. News agency ANI quoted Anto Alphonse the DCP North, Delhi to say that this was a "general deployment to avoid any clash between AAP and any other party".
Further details awaited.
