Unfazed by a case registered against him by the city police for allegedly breaking the lock of a sealed house in Gokulpuri area, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and his supporters tried to repeat the act, as the civic body had restored the seal, but was stopped by the police.
Tiwari returned after being stopped. But said his party was "illegal" sealing as well as "pick and choose" policy in sealing properties. Tiwari said he would not let people suffer due to the sealing drive.
The issue turned political with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accusing Tiwari of enacting a "drama" to "misguide" the traders and people while the the Congress trained its guns on BJP, saying he was doing "cheap politics" to gain publicity.
A senior Delhi Police official had Monday said they have registered a case against Tiwari for allegedly breaking the lock of a sealed house in the Gokulpuri area.
Despite the FIR against him, Tiwari reached Gokulpuri accompanied by scores of BJP workers and locals to break the seal of the same house as municipal corporation had sealed it again.
He was stopped from reaching the house by a police barricade. He agreed to return after being assured by civic officials that they will look into the matter.
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The property in northeast Delhi was sealed as it was being used as a "dairy facility" and allegedly being run in violation of the Delhi Master Plan, a East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) official said.
Based on a complaint from the civic body, the case was registered against Tiwari under the Indian Penal Code's Section 188 and relevant provisions of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, the officer said.
The complaint was lodged by the EDMC on Monday, a day after Tiwari allegedly broke the lock.
The section pertains to disobedience to an order promulgated by a public servant and punishment under it can be for a maximum term of six months in prison and a fine.
On Sunday, Tiwari, during his visit to Gokulpuri, was informed by locals that only one house among several was sealed by the municipal corporation.
"The protest against prejudiced action will cover not just Gokulpuri but other villages also. Wherever houses of the poor people will be sealed illegally, I will protest against it," he said, addressing the gathering in Gaokalpuri.
He said that the BJP is against "illegal" sealing as well as "pick and choose" policy in sealing properties.
"I will not let lakhs of people suffer due to corruption and will protest the selective action against the poor," he asserted.
Meanwhile, AAP leader Dilip Pandey lashed out at Tiwari, saying it was an attempt by the party to hide failures.
"Manoj Tiwari is enacting drama to misguide the traders and people of Delhi by breaking the seal. It is an attempt to hide failures of the BJP which rules municipal corporations that are carrying out the sealing drive," Pandey said.
Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovely asserted that his party's "Nyay Yudh" has rattled the BJP. "Tiwari who is doing cheap politics. Our campaign is for removing seals and not breaking them. But Tiwari is doing it for publicity," Lovely said.
Terming the BJP-dominated municipal corporations as corrupt, Lovely also demanded that the Centre dissolve it.
The act of breaking the seal of the house in Gokulpuri was noticed by the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee supervising the sealing drive against violations of Delhi's Master Plan and other irregularities, seeking a report from the municipal corporation in the matter.
Chairman of the committee KJ Rao had said that the incident would also be reported to the Supreme Court.