New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party, which was on the backfoot following Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash's allegation that he was assaulted by two AAP MLAs has now gone on the offensive. Party spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Tuesday that the party would seek charges of criminal conspiracy against the Chief Secretary, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and office bearers of the IAS association.
The AAP claimed it received a major boost on Tuesday after the Tis Hazari Court ordered that all CCTV footage from all cameras in Delhi Secretariat, where state cabinet minister and senior AAP leader Imran Hussain was assaulted by a mob, be preserved. The AAP said that on March 1, the next date of hearing in the secretariat assault case, it will press criminal charges against the alleged "conspirators" under section 120b of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The AAP's claims rests on a late night meeting held at the L-G's residence, soon after the meeting where the CS alleged he was assaulted. "The Chief Secretary met the L-G after the meeting, where he claims he was assaulted. This meeting was held after midnight and the L-G, the police commissioner and DCP (North Delhi) were also present. The FIR was lodged in the afternoon the next day. We believe that the Chief Secretary, the L-G and the Police Commissioner came together to plan this conspiracy against the elected government," AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
He added, During the next hearing, we will demand that criminal charges be framed against the CS, the L-G, the Police Commissioner and the office bearers of the IAS association."
Explaining the rationale behind including the IAS association as a party in this case, senior AAP leader Dilip Pandey said, "The IAS association has been trying to incite a revolt in the government at the insistence of the BJP and Central Government. Why didn't IAS association raise their voices for Ashok Khemka or Durga Shakti Nagpal? Videos of Azam Khan and Maneka Gandhi misbehaving with bureaucracts have gone viral in the past. Health Minister of Haryana was recently misbehaving with bureaucracts. Where was the IAS association?"
A senior AAP leader said this will also help the party win the perception battle. "They tried to force us on the backfoot but we will not take this lying down. A senior member of the Delhi cabinet was assaulted. We will also fight. The CS and L-G will have no credibility left once they are booked under criminal charges," a party source said.
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