New Delhi: Anti-corruption crusaders-turned-politicians Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and other India Against Corruption (IAC) members were on Friday detained in the national capital after the Delhi Police broke up their sit-in protest near Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence. They were bundled into a bus and taken to a local police station.
Even after the detention, Kejriwal reiterated that Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid must be asked to resign or he would tamper with evidence. He said that India Against Corruption was protesting peacefully and the move of police to detain them was not expected. He said, "If the police release us, we will go back to Parliament Street and continue protest," adding that since he and his supporters were picked up forcefully, they would not come out of jail.
Kejriwal and his supporters were protesting on Janpath road with differently-abled people against Union Minister Salman Khurshid and his wife Louise Khurshid. The protests were held following allegations that Khurshid's family-run trust in Uttar Pradesh had embezzled money meant for the handicapped.
The protestors were demanding to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Though the police offered to take a few of them to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) so that they could submit their memorandum, they refused. Following this, the police broke up their sit in, saying they were causing nuisance to the public.
This came even as Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid filed a defamation suit against TV Today, which first carried the report while his wife, Louise Khurshid, reacted to the allegations saying the documents being flashed by some news channels were not Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports.
She issued a statement saying, "I have it on authority of The CAG & Office of Auditor General that the document that certain news channels are flashing is not a CAG report. A CAG report on any subject is placed before Parliament. The document is merely an excerpt…We categorically reiterate that there has been no misappropriation of any funds."
Earlier, Kejriwal had said that he would continue to protest till Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met him or Law Minister Salman Khurshid resigned. The Prime Minister, however, refused to meet Kejriwal, saying he had prior appointments. While Kejriwal had sought an appointment with the Prime Minister to seek action against Law Minister Salman Khurshid, the PMO said his appointments had already been fixed for the day. Kejriwal also wanted to submit a letter to the Prime Minister with details of allegations against Khurshid.
"A police complaint should be filed immediately against Salman Khurshid and his wife. Salman Khurshid should be removed from the Cabinet till proven innocent. Both of them are influential people, they can tamper with the evidence and pressure witnesses. They should be arrested immediately," Kejriwal had said.
Earlier this week, a Hindi news channel had alleged that an NGO run by Khurshid and his wife Louise Khurshid had misappropriated funds meant for the differently-abled by forging signatures. Both the minister and his wife have denied the charges.
Kejriwal had on Wednesday announced that he would join the differently-abled people in gheraoing Sonia Gandhi's residence but on Thursday his aides said there were changes in their plan after discussions with the activists and instead they would march to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence. "On Friday, the differently-abled people will march towards 7, RCR, the official residence of the Prime Minister. The earlier plans have been changed," a member of Kejriwal-led India Against Corruption said. Kejriwal had also tweeted about plans to gherao Gandhi's residence.
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