New Delhi. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday led a march to the Prime Minister’s residence to protest against the E20 fuel policy. However, Delhi Police stopped Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Jasmine Shah and several other party leaders and workers at Ferozshah Road. After this, AAP leaders started a sit-in on the road. The party says that it wants to hand over to the Prime Minister petitions signed by more than 2.30 lakh people collected from across the country against E20.
Said to hand over letters to the PM
During the protest, Arvind Kejriwal stated that over 200,000 people have written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi protesting the E20 policy. He added that he has also sent a message requesting an appointment with the Prime Minister and expressed hope that he will be able to directly submit the letters expressing public concerns.
Government cornered on E20 policy
Kejriwal alleged that the E20 policy was being forcibly imposed on the common people. He claimed that a massive mass movement was needed on this issue and appealed to the public to join the campaign. He also demanded that the government make both regular petrol and E20 available at petrol pumps and reconsider the prices of E20 fuel.
AAP demands PMO to send a representative
Delhi AAP President Saurabh Bhardwaj said the party only wanted to convey the people’s petitions to the Prime Minister. He demanded that if the protesters were not allowed to proceed, an official from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) should come to the spot and accept the memorandum. He also questioned the heavy police deployment at the protest site.
BJP alleges political drama
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP President Harsh Malhotra called Kejriwal’s protest a political gimmick. He alleged that marching to the Prime Minister’s residence without permission and then making an issue of police action is a long-standing tactic of the Aam Aadmi Party. The BJP said the police acted as per the rules to maintain law and order.
The political battle over E20 continues.
The political conflict between the Aam Aadmi Party and the central government over the E20 fuel policy appears to be escalating. While the AAP is demanding changes to the policy, the government is awaiting an official response.