'They are only here to do nautanki': AAP defends Arvind Kejriwal against notice on MLAs 'poaching' issue

A disturbance occurred outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence on Saturday as a team from the crime branch once again attempted to serve him a notice to join the probe into his allegation that the BJP was attempting to lure MLAs from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). 

An altercation ensued between the Delhi Police Crime Branch team, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP)-level officer, and officials at the Chief Minister's residence regarding the delivery of the notice to Kejriwal.

AAP leader Jasmine Shah posted a video on X (formerly known as Twitter), capturing the incident. In the footage, Shah can be seen attempting to get an explanation from a crime branch official about the legal provision that required delivering the notice directly to Arvind Kejriwal.

"I asked a simple question to the Delhi police officer standing in front of the entrance of the residence of CM Arvind Kejriwal: Under which law is he insisting to hand over a notice personally to CM? He had no answers. It is clear they are only here to do nautanki (drama)," Shah wrote, posting the video.

This action was in response to Kejriwal's allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had attempted to poach seven MLAs from his party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with an offer of Rs 25 crore each.

The notice served to Kejriwal demanded that he provide evidence to support his claims of MLA poaching. The BJP had previously lodged a police complaint against Kejriwal's accusations, which sparked a legal and political confrontation between the two parties. 

The situation escalated when a team from the crime branch arrived at Kejriwal's official residence to serve the notice, leading to a stir among AAP members who labeled the incident as 'Nautanki' and expressed their discontentment.

Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj asserted that the police were intentionally avoiding delivering the notice to the Chief Minister's office.

"This is so embarrassing for the Modi government. The BJP is totally exposed today. Yesterday, all BJP spokespersons alleged the CM office did not receive police notice. Today, they are exposed. Police ACP deliberately not delivering notice to CM office," he wrote on X.

Delhi Minister Atishi, during a recent press conference, accused the BJP of initiating "Operation Lotus 2.0" in Delhi, claiming that the party attempted a similar move last year but failed. Delhi BJP Chief Virender Sachdeva and other party leaders met with the city police chief on January 30, urging an investigation into Kejriwal's allegations. Sachdeva stated that Kejriwal was asked to substantiate his claims, but no evidence has been provided by anyone from the AAP.

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