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Arvind Kejriwal broke law by 'engineering' dharna: BJP

Saturday, 25 January 2014 - 10:02pm IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI

Stepping up its attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, BJP on Saturday accused him and his government of breaking the law by "engineering" a dharna at a prohibited place and said their action was not in any way in accordance with the Constitution.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said it is the responsibility of an elected government and its head to carry out governance in accordance with Constitution but Kejriwal did not do so, as his ministers "abandoned" the Secretariat and participated in the dharna.

"There is a responsibility on an elected government and its head to carry on the governance of the state in accordance with the Constitution. If we examine the details of what the AAP government in Delhi did, the answer to the question will be as self-evident.

"The ministers abandoned the Sachivalya. They took the police by surprise and engineered a dharna at a place where it was prohibited. They broke the law," he said in an article.

Jaitley said the ministers sent messages to their supporters to assemble in large numbers and their supporters tried to break the police barricade.

Attacking Kejriwal, he said, the Delhi chief minister delivered a speech advocating anarchy as a form of government and appealed to cops to go on leave, discard their uniform and join the protest and also threatened to obstruct the Republic Day parade.

"If the police in Delhi had responded to his call and abandoned its duty coupled with an invasion of his supporters during the Republic Day parade at the Rajpath, could it be said that the governance is being carried on in accordance with the Constitution. The answer to this question is a definitive 'No'," Jaitley said.

He said the right to peacefully protest is part of legitimate political activity.

Every every citizen has a right to dissent, protest being a form of dissent, but an elected government has a responsibility of governance as per Constitution, he said.

According to him, there is a difference between sitting on a fast at Rajghat and giving a call to policemen to abandon their duty and obstructing the Republic Day parade.

"I am sure Arvind Kejriwal realizes this," he said.

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