Street drama has returned to the national capital, as Arvind Kejriwal seems to be doing everything he can to come to the spotlight and attract media attention.
The chief of the Aam Aadmi party (AAP) spent the night in Delhi's Tihar jail, after being arrested in a defamation case. Scores of his supporters, who protested outside the prison Wednesday night, were also detained.
Television channels showed unprecedented chaos outside Tihar Jail where Section 144 – unlawful assembly – was imposed. Police forces were seen resorting to Lathi charge and forceful removal of the supporters including some of the major AAP leaders.
Reinforcements were rushed to disperse off the crowd. Around 60 people, including Yogendra Yadav, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh were detained.
Yognedra Yadav tweeted Thursday morning saying he wasn't sure when they would be released:
Still under detention at Hari Nagar police station. Not clear when they plan to release.
— Yogendra Yadav (@AapYogendra) May 22, 2014
He also tweeted a photograph of himself where he claimed he was manhandled. He appears to have been dragged out by police personals.
Was manhandled despite peacefully sitting outside Tihar jail in support of @ArvindKejriwal pic.twitter.com/Nx7EVNFYt3 — Yogendra Yadav (@AapYogendra) May 21, 2014
The evening's dramatic 'road show' came after another court-room drama in the morning. As the case was called at around 10am by metropolitan magistrate Gomati Manocha, Kejriwal and his party members said there was no question of bail.
"This is my principle that when I have not done anything wrong, I will not seek bail. I'm ready to go to jail," he said.
The court alleged that Kejriwal was not acting like an 'Aam Aadmi' in the first place.
"When you are representing AAP, we expect you to behave like an Aam Aadmi. Let the procedure be the same for everyone. Is there a problem in furnishing a bail bond?" the magistrate asked Kejriwal. "What you are asking for is differential treatment."
Kejriwal then replied that he did not commit any crime and added that he was simply implicated for political purposes.
"I am ready to go to jail. We are setting a precedence. I am not saying that give this treatment only to me. Give it to all," the AAP convenor stated.
One of the layers in Gadkari's team yelled that Kejriwal must be sent to jail. As the scene slowly converted into chaos, the magistrate retired to her chambers.
Various reports have claimed that there are more protests planned for Thursday by the AAP supporters, although the news has been dismissed by party as rumors.
No protest against arrest of @ArvindKejriwal has been planned anywhere, today. Plz do not get into rumors and wait for official updates only
— Aam Aadmi Party (@AamAadmiParty) May 22, 2014
Arvind Kejriwal has succeeded in capturing media attention over the last few days as television and news outlets have spent considerable space and time for the coverage. On Twitter, the hashtag #ArvindJailed and 'Tihar jail' has been trending for more than 24 hours.
TV channels show chaos outside Tihar Jail where #sec144 - unlawful assembly - has been imposed. @htTweets https://t.co/6dfvucjVVc — Vishakha Saxena (@GypsyAndTonic) May 21, 2014
