As AAP intensifies its protest over Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, the BJP has written to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena over the legitimacy of the orders issued by Kejriwal while in ED's custody.
The first order was issued by Kejriwal on Sunday, under ED custody, ordering the Water Department. He issued another directive from custody to the Health Department on Tuesday. The AAP has maintained that the chief minister will not quit even if he is behind bars.
However, BJP national secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, in his letter to the L-G, that the directives from Kejriwal were "forged" since they did not carry the chief minister's signature. Sirsa alleged that the purported office orders did not carry the officer order number or the date of issue.
"Hence it is clear that Atishi has unauthorisedly and illegally misused and abused her official capacity as a Minister for unauthorisedly accessing and using the "Official Letter-head" of the "Office of the Chief Minister, Government of NCT Delhi" for fabricating an "Officer Order"," Sirsa alleged in the letter.
He said Kejriwal cannot issue orders without prior permission from the Court by seeking a change in the terms and conditions of the "remand order." The court has not granted him any such permission.
Sirsa urged the Delhi L-G to pass necessary directions for the registration of FIR against the "fabrication and forgery of the official records by the unconstitutional use of the office of the Chief Minister of Delhi."
"This order is illegal and unconstitutional; we demand an enquiry as to who is misusing CMO and for what personal gains!" Sirsa later wrote on X.
Meanwhile, several AAP leaders, including Punjab Minister Harjot Singh Bains and Somnath Bharti, were detained by the police on Tuesday as they gathered at the Patel Chowk here to protest against Kejriwal's arrest.
The AAP workers had reached the area's metro station in groups, with the party calling for a march to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence on Lok Kalyan Marg for a "gherao". Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are imposed in the area.
Senior AAP leader Bharti in a post on X said he has been detained by police along with Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker and AAP's Mangolpuri MLA Rakhi Birla. "Delhi Police for no rhyme or reason along with Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla and many volunteers of AAP and supporters of Arvind Kejriwal Ji. It's shocking to see that while the Delhi Police are arresting peacefully protesting AAP supporters, they are doing nothing to stop @BJP4India," Bharti posted.
Bains, who is a minister in the AAP government in Punjab, and senior party member Reena Gupta were also among those detained.
The BJP also held protests seeking the resignation of Chief Minister Kejriwal.
