Indians from Boston, LA, NY, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Berlin protested Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that Indians living in 13 countries participated in a fast on Sunday that was held by the party to protest against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the excise policy case. 

AAP said in a statement that people at Harvard Square in Boston, Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, Lake Elizabeth in San Francisco, Times Square in New York, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Plaza in Dallas, Brampton City Hall in Toronto and outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC participated in the fast.

Indians in Holland Park in downtown Vancouver, Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia, Parliament Square in London, UK, O'Cannell Street Upper in Dublin, Ireland; Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany and the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo, also observed a mass fast, it said.

The party on its WhatsApp number shared pictures of Indians from  US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Norway, Ireland and other countries ‘raising their voice against dictatorship’. 

The statement added that the fast, like in Delhi and other parts of the country, was started with Mahatma Gandhi's favourite devotional song 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’. 

AAP stated that the participants also pledged to support Kejriwal’s fight to ‘save India's democracy and Constitution’, under the 'Bless Kejriwal' campaign. 

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 21, and will be kept in judicial custody till April 15.

AAP leaders held a day-long fast at Jantar Mantar on Sunday to protest Kejriwal’s arrest. The AAP leaders also dared the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to impose president’s rule in Delhi. 

The protest stage had an image of Kejriwal behind bars, with a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, flanked by BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh, being kept in front of the stage. The protest ended at 5 pm.