Botad violence: Police arrest AAP leaders Raju Karpada, Pravin Ram from Ahmedabad

The AAP had announced earlier this week that Karpada and Ram would sit on protest at the Ahmedabad party office on Thursday, anticipating arrest. Speaking to mediapersons during their detention, the leaders said they were “ready to face any action” but demanded that the government release the farmers arrested in the same case.

The meeting had been called to discuss the kadada pratha in Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs), where farmers allege they are denied agreed prices for their crops.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who spoke with families of those arrested on Wednesday evening, released a video on X on Thursday after the arrests.

Kejriwal said, “On October 12, the farmers in Gujarat met at Hadadad village in Botad to make two demands. One was to stop the kadada pratha, where some traders would purchase a portion of the produce at the full rate and the rest at lower rates. The second demand was that farmers should not have to transport their produce to traders’ warehouses at their own expense.”

He added, “When farmers gathered there, the 30-year-old BJP government behaved in a barbaric manner and conducted lathicharge and fired teargas shells at unarmed farmers. That same day, farmers were booked for attempt to murder and several were arrested. AAP has stood with farmers at every step. Our leaders Raju Karpada and Pravin Ram have now been arrested. I tell the Gujarat government: accept the farmers’ demands, withdraw cases against them, and put us in jail instead. You can file more cases on AAP leaders, but not on the farmers. I tell the farmers: this can happen to you tomorrow.”

The FIR, filed on behalf of the State in the early hours of October 13, followed a violent clash between AAP workers, farmers, and police in Hadadad village on October 12 evening. The confrontation involved stone-pelting and damage to police vehicles on one side, and lathicharge and teargas shelling on the other.

The AAP’s official stance has been that the kisan mahapanchayat held that day was peaceful but “infiltrated by unknown persons,” leading to violence.