The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday alleged that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was being spied on by officers of the Delhi Police Special Cell in plain clothes “walking round” his residence throughout the day, a claim denied by the force.
AAP’s chief spokesperson and Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj told a press conference here that the party’s Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh have written to Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora regarding the matter.
Rejecting the snooping allegations, police sources said as per protocol, officers of the Special Branch and not officers of the Special Cell are deployed to assess the security arrangements around the residences of dignitaries.
“Officers of the Special Branch are like the eyes and ears of the Delhi Police. They assess the threat, whether security personnel are doing their job properly, checking visitors, monitoring or not.”
“They prepare a report on such things and submit them to their superiors. Their job is to see whether the local police and security personnel are doing their job properly or not. They also assess the area and security arrangements around the houses of other dignitaries. It is part of protocol and not espionage.”
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP alleged that AAP is making this claim to divert attention from the ‘scam’ in the renovation of Kejriwal’s official residence.
Addressing the media, Bhardwaj said, “In the last two days, our MPs have written letters on a very serious issue.” He then read similar letters written by MPs.
“I want to draw your attention to a serious issue. The people of Delhi have made Kejriwal the chief minister thrice. There has been a security lapse and he has been attacked. The job of the police is to protect the citizens. But sadly There is talk that they are not even able to keep the chief minister safe. A drone was spotted near his residence a few days ago, but no one was arrested in connection with the incident.”
He said that the MPs have further said that some officers of the Special Cell of Delhi Police are roaming around Kejriwal’s residence throughout the day.
Bhardwaj said, “When asked, they said they are on a special task. What is this special task? Is the Delhi Chief Minister being spied on? Under what law is the Delhi Police spying on its own Chief Minister? ?They are keeping an eye on the people coming to the Chief Minister’s residence.” The MPs also complained about the deteriorating law and order situation in the national capital.
“Why is Delhi Police not protecting the CM, but spying on him? Is it not illegal? What is its purpose? The matter is very serious. We have no objection to what they are doing. We have objection to what the Center is asking them to do,” he alleged political conspiracy.
He said that BJP wants to destroy AAP.
“The world knows about our differences with the PM. The PM wants to eliminate the Chief Minister politically. They want to eliminate AAP and these incidents raise serious questions. They will have to answer these questions – What special work is given to the policemen in plain uniform? At least he would have been informed.
“A senior officer will brief the CM and ask, ‘What do you want?’ PM needs more security than CM. So is the police also spying outside the PM’s residence? If that is what is happening then we can accept it. No policeman can roam around the area around PM’s residence.
An official of the Special Cell said the staff has the responsibility of maintaining law and order and assessing security measures for the chief minister and other VIPs. “When asked by the officers, they presented their ID cards. These are baseless allegations.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the allegations leveled by AAP leaders Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Saurabh Bhardwaj are their last ditch effort to divert attention from the bungalow renovation and liquor scams.
“Leaders of Aam Aadmi Party are disappointed because the image and public perception of Aam Aadmi created by their leader Arvind Kejriwal has been completely tarnished and today when all their efforts to divert public attention from Raj Mahal Scam have failed So they have thrown out this allegation of espionage. CM House,” he said.
Kapoor said AAP leaders should realize that Delhi Police provides security to Kejriwal and they need not deploy additional personnel if they want to keep an eye on him.
read all latest politics news And karnataka election 2023 update here
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)