A day after claiming that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had been put under "house arrest", the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today said his movement remains restricted by the Delhi Police, which has denied the charge.
No matter how many policemen you deploy, or BJP leaders protest, outside the Chief Minister's residence, we will not give you the permission to turn Delhi's stadiums into jail to imprison protesting farmers, said Aam Aadmi Party National Spokesperson Raghav Chaddha on Wednesday.
"Mr Kejriwal's movement continues to be restricted by the Delhi Police as directed by Home Minister Amit Shah," Mr Chadhha told reporters a day after his party alleged the AAP chief had to cancel all his meetings because he had been put under "house arrest" for supporting farmers, thousands of whom have been camping along Delhi's borders for two weeks demanding repeal of three contentious agriculture laws.
The claim has been dismissed by the Delhi Police, which added that Mr Kejriwal had attended a meeting at 11 am.
"They have opened a back gate, but the main gate of his residence remains closed," said Mr Chaddha, who according to news agency PTI added that there is an atmosphere of "undeclared emergency" around the chief minister's residence.
The senior leader said the move was a tactic to pressure the Delhi government so its stadia can be turned into jails for farmers demanding repeal of the three "black laws".
"Why is the chowkidar (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) so scared of the sevadar (Arvind Kejriwal)? What revenge are you trying to exact?... Is he being made to pay for backing farmers?" the MLA said comparing the centre's stand towards farmers to that of AAP chief's stand of "being a volunteer in service".
On Monday, a day ahead of Bharat Bandh, the Delhi Chief Minister had visited the Singhu border to review arrangements made by his government for farmers, whom he had called his guests, and said the AAP and he would participate in the shutdown.
The next day, his party claimed that Mr Kejriwal had been put under "house arrest" since no one was being allowed to meet the Chief Minister, including ministers and party leaders.
The claims were dismissed by the Delhi Police as "baseless" and it later said the security was routine. The Delhi police did accept that some restrictions had been placed but that was only because a group of BJP leaders were protesting outside Mr Kejriwal's residence.
The AAP, however, maintains that the councillors' protest was a ruse to keep Mr Kejriwal from joining the farmers' protest.
The "house arrest" claim invited a jibe from BJP's cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhi who said Mr Kejriwal's support to farmers was pretence and that he was only interested in wresting power in Punjab, where AAP is the main opposition party.
The comment came in the backdrop of Arvind Kejriwal being accused of having "double standards" on farm laws by Punjab Chief Minister. Earlier, Amarinder Singh had called out his counterpart saying that if the AAP chief was really concerned about farmers, he would have passed bills countering the Centre's "black laws", like Punjab.
Farmers' protest against the three laws continues as talks with the Centre have remained inconclusive till now.
A day after their meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah failed to resolve the deadlock, with both sides remaining firm on their positions, the government said the Minimum support price (MSP) for crops will stay and gave a written proposal to for farmers' consideration.
Farmers' groups held a meeting at one of the Delhi-Haryana borders with union leaders saying they would settle for nothing less than the scrapping of the legislations.
A big meeting scheduled for today with Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar - the sixth since the protests started - was called off yesterday.
Eye On Purvanchali Vote, AAP Vs BJP Over Chhat Puja Ghat In Delhi 'Will Return With...': Swati Maliwal Pours Dirty Water Outside Chief Minister's Residence Will Waive Inflated Water, Electricity Bills In Delhi When...: Arvind Kejriwal "Government Can't Take Over...": Big Supreme Court Order On Private Property Who Will Win US Election 2024? AI Makes Stunning Predictions "Can We Castigate...": An Objection To Chief Justice's Remark On Past Judge Iranian Satellites Among Dozens Launched On Board Russia's Soyuz Rocket Weight Loss Tips: These Winter Foods Can Help You Achieve Your Ideal Weight US Elections: How George Washington Became The First President Of America Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.