NEW DELHI: Dramatic scenes were witnessed outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Friday as Punjab Transport Minister Amarinder Singh Raja reached there with his supporters, raising the issue of his state government's buses not being allowed to operate to and fro the airport in the national capital.
Addressing a virtual press conference, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged that Raja "misbehaved" with the security personnel and the staff deployed at Kejriwal's residence.
According to a verdict of the Supreme Court, inter-state buses can ply from the ISBTs (Inter-State Bus Terminals), he said, adding, "The IGI (Indira Gandhi International) airport is not an ISBT."
Hitting out at Raja for the "drama" outside the chief minister's residence, Sisodia said, "Punjab has witnessed a blast (in the Ludhiana district court complex) and two consecutive sacrilege attempts. He should pay attention to his state. He should work there as only a few days of his (Congress) government are left."
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is the main opposition party in Punjab, which goes to polls early next year.
In a series of tweets, the Punjab Congress claimed that Raja was detained by the Delhi Police "for raising the issue of Punjab's buses not being allowed to operate on the Delhi airport route by the Kejriwal government".
The Delhi police, however, clarified that the Punjab minister was not detained but removed from the spot along with his supporters.
"Why is @ArvindKejriwal not allowing Punjab's buses to operate on the Delhi airport route? Transport Minister @RajaBrar_INC has been trying to meet him since almost two months but instead of resolving the issue Kejriwal is allowing Badals' buses to operate on the same route," the Punjab Congress tweeted.
Sisodia clarified that the buses belonging to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal's family are not allowed to ply to and fro the Delhi airport.
Over the last one month, 115 buses operated by the Badals were seized in Delhi and 230 challans issued against the vehicles for violation of rules, he said.
A total of 75 buses of the Badals, which were "illegally plying" in the national capital, were seized in the last three days, the deputy chief minister said.
Claiming that the buses owned by the Badals "openly ply" violating rules in Punjab and Haryana, he dared Raja to take action against those vehicles.
"The transport minister of Punjab should tell us how much money they pay for it. Why don't you seize the buses? Take action against them. What is the point of enacting a drama here?" the AAP leader asked.