Aam Aadmi Party MPs boycotted President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Thursday to protest against the arrest of party convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal was on Wednesday arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged excise policy scam being probed by it.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh submitted a notice of special mention to the Rajya Sabha secretariat on the 'misuse' of investigative agencies, the party said in a statement.
AAP MPs boycotted the President's address to the joint sitting of the Parliament after the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha.
They claimed the address was written by the Central government, while maintaining that they had full respect for her.
Later they protested against Kejriwal's arrest outside the Parliament and alleged it 'was a gross misuse of investigation agencies'.
They held placards that read 'ED, CBI ka durupyog bandh karo' (stop the misuse of ED, CBI), 'Taanashahi nahi chalegi' (dictatorship will not be allowed), 'Kejriwal ko riha karo' (free Kejriwal), and raised slogans such as 'PM jawab do' (answer us, PM).
"The protest is against dictatorship. This protest is to protect the Constitution and democracy. Today an elected chief minister was arrested and put behind bars. We are asking the prime minister to stop the misuse of investigative agencies and release Kejriwal," AAP MP Sanjay Singh said during the protest.
"We are boycotting the President's address since it is written by the government. We will participate in the discussion and do the job of waking up the government," Singh said.
He alleged that the ED and CBI are being used to harass opposition leaders and parties.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Kejriwal, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and former Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain were put in jail by these agencies.
Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, AAP MP from Sangrur, said the Constitution and democracy are being 'crushed in the entire country' under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
"Investigative agencies are being openly misused from Delhi to West Bengal, Jharkhand and Maharashtra," Hayer alleged.
Hayer too mentioned the arrests of Kejriwal, Soren, Sisodia and Jain, adding,"Sanjay Singh was kept in jail for six months for no reason."
"This is very dangerous for the democracy of the country," he said.
Hayer said Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI in a hurry when he had every possibility of getting bail from the Supreme Court because he had got bail from the trial court.
"This is a big example of dictatorship," he added.
He said the AAP is discussing the matter with its INDIA bloc allies and with their support, the voice of dissent will be raised louder.
Murmu on Thursday addressed a joint sitting of Parliament after the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha.
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AAP to hold nationwide protest on June 29
The Aam Aadmi Party will hold a protest across the country on June 29 against the arrest of party national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the CBI.
A meeting of senior AAP leaders at its headquarters here decided to take to the streets and expand the protests by the party over Kejriwal's arrest in the whole country, said a party statement.
"The AAP workers across the country will hold massive 'dharna' against the BJP for misuse of investigation agencies and Arvind Kejriwal's arrest on Saturday," AAP national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak.
When the BJP felt that Kejriwal was going to get bail from the Supreme Court, they put the CBI forward to stop him.
The BJP wants to keep him in jail at any cost so that he stays away from the elections and the AAP is finished, Pathak charged.
The AAP is confident that all the people of Delhi stand with Chief Minister Kejriwal and will support the party's fight against this injustice, he said.
