Sab Log Delhi Chalo – Kejriwal Appeals to Entire Country From Police Custody

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday appealed to people across the country to reach Delhi and join the protest against alleged vote theft, delivering the message “Sab Log Delhi Chalo” after being detained by Delhi Police while heading to Jantar Mantar.

Kejriwal and several senior AAP leaders and party workers were detained as they sought to join a protest organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) against alleged ‘Vote-Chori’ and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The AAP accused the BJP-led Central Government of using a heavy police deployment to prevent demonstrators from reaching the protest venue.

In his appeal, Kejriwal urged citizens to travel to Delhi by whatever means possible and peacefully protest wherever police stopped them.

“Wherever Modi Ji stops you, sit down at that very spot and turn it into Jantar Mantar. Turn the entire country into Jantar Mantar,” he said, calling on people to unite to protect democracy and oppose alleged electoral malpractice.

Kejriwal alleged that the government was attempting to suppress the issue of vote theft and intimidate citizens through police action. He said the country’s youth had awakened and would not be deterred by what he described as the Modi government’s dictatorship.

“The youth of this country have now awakened, and they will not be intimidated by Modi Ji’s dictatorship,” Kejriwal said, adding that Gyanesh Kumar would have to resign because people were no longer willing to tolerate alleged vote theft.

The AAP chief also appealed to citizens to step out of their homes and join what he described as a struggle to save the country. He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of creating an atmosphere of fear in Delhi through extensive police and paramilitary deployment.

In a post on X, Kejriwal described the situation as worse than the Emergency and alleged that the government was trying to crush democracy to conceal electoral wrongdoing. He also called for Modi’s resignation, alongside his demand for the Chief Election Commissioner to step down.

Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh accused the Centre of creating Emergency-like conditions in Delhi to protect those accused by the party of benefiting from vote theft. He said AAP was supporting the CJP protest because it believed accountability was necessary in the electoral process.

Singh warned that suppressing people’s voices through force could intensify public anger. He urged citizens to participate in the movement and said peaceful protest was a democratic and constitutional right.

AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that Delhi Police had manhandled Kejriwal and criticised the scale of the security deployment. He maintained that citizens should be allowed to express their views peacefully and called on the government to avoid violence against demonstrators.

Senior AAP leader and Delhi Assembly Leader of Opposition Atishi claimed that 45 metro stations had been shut, 45,000 police and paramilitary personnel deployed, and thousands of people placed under preventive detention. She also alleged that internet services had been shut down and markets closed.

Former Delhi minister Gopal Rai described the situation as a “Black Emergency” and said students, young people and political workers were being detained. He asserted that AAP would continue its movement despite arrests.

AAP leaders alleged that Delhi Police surrounded Kejriwal’s residence before he could leave for the protest. The party said workers who had gathered at the residence were also detained.

The party further claimed that police had sealed its national office, erected barricades and restricted people from entering or leaving the premises. AAP leaders questioned why workers were allegedly being prevented from visiting their own party headquarters.

With access to Jantar Mantar reportedly restricted, AAP workers staged a demonstration outside the party office under Gopal Rai’s leadership. They raised slogans including “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod” and vowed to continue the movement despite the detentions.

Kejriwal’s “Sab Log Delhi Chalo” appeal became the central message of the party’s response to the police action, with AAP urging people nationwide to join its campaign against alleged vote theft and demand Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

The allegations of electoral malpractice and the claims regarding the scale of police restrictions were made by AAP leaders. Independent confirmation of these allegations was not included in the source material.