India's AAP Calls For Nationwide Protest Against Kejriwal's Arrest

The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Delhi unit convenor Gopal Rai gave a call on Thursday for a nationwide protest against the BJP following Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The ED arrested Kejriwal in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case on Thursday evening and took him to the agency's headquarters here, officials said.

The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant protection to the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the federal agency.

At a midnight press conference, Delhi ministers Atishi, Rai and the AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak condemned the way in which Kejriwal was arrested.

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj was also present.

"The Supreme Court will hear the case on Friday. This arrest is unconstitutional. They arrested (former Jharkhand chief minister) Hemant Soren, Arvind Kejriwal and froze the accounts of Congress," Atishi said.

Earlier, Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely joined the AAP protest outside Kejriwal's residence.