AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan arrested over protest against anti-encroachment drive in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in the national capital, Delhi Police on Thursday arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan who along with locals was protesting against South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) at Madanpur Khadar area. He has been booked for obstructing a public servant from discharge of duty.

Amanatullah claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party through the civic body is running bulldozers over the houses of poor people. "The lathi-charge by the police on the people opposing the BJP's "bulldozer system" is unconstitutional. We are against the anti-people policies of the BJP, and I will always raise my voice for the rights of the people, no matter how many times I have to go to jail for this," tweeted Amanatullah in a series of tweets.

"Delhi Police has arrested me. Can imprison me, not my spirits," he said in another tweet. The SDMC on Thursday ran bulldozers in several areas of West Delhi including the Khyala and Chand Nagar areas of Vishnu Garden. Earlier, it carried out the demolition drive in the Madanpur Khadar area, where people protested against the move of SDMC.

The locals raised anti-encroachment slogans and sat on the roads in an attempt to stop the bulldozers that were brought to carry out the drive in the presence of the Delhi police. Khan said that the people of the area had already removed the encroachments at his request.

"Wazu Khana' and toilets outside a mosque here were removed in presence of police, earlier. When there are no encroachments, why have they come here? Just to do politics?" the AAP MLA said. Khan further alleged that the MCD is carrying out the drive to "disturb the atmosphere".

"When I removed all the encroachments, then the MCD has come to disturb the atmosphere. Why else have they come? If there is any encroachment in my constituency, tell me, and I will remove it," he said.