‘Attack’ on Kejriwal duringpadyatra: AAP; BJP hits back

Atishi, or AAP leaders, did not specify the nature of the attack on Kejriwal. To be sure, the former CM did not suffer any physical harm

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday alleged that the party’s national convener, Arvind Kejriwal, was attacked by “Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) goons” during his foot march in Vikaspuri, west Delhi, in the evening.

Kejriwal during the roadshow in Vikaspuri. (HT Photo)

In a press conference held late evening, chief minister Atishi said: “A group of people, who were BJP workers, came close to Kejriwal on the pretext of putting a garland around his neck, raised slogans against him, and attacked him. Anything could have happened to Arvind Kejriwal in this attack. Had the BJP workers been armed, Kejriwal could have lost his life. It is crystal clear that it was an attack by the BJP because previous attacks on Kejriwal were also done by BJP workers. The Delhi Police did not take any action against the attackers.”

Atishi, or AAP leaders, did not specify the nature of the attack on Kejriwal. To be sure, the former CM did not suffer any physical harm.

“During the padyatra, locals (in Vikaspuri) went to Kejriwal to complain about the dirty water being supplied to them. They insisted that Kejriwal and his MLA (Mahinder Yadav) drink the water. It infuriated Kejriwal,” he said.

Police also refuted claims of an attack.

A senior police officer, who asked not to be named, said: “Slogans were raised. A black flag was also shown, but there was no attack.”

There was no official comment from the Delhi Police.

Kejriwal started his march around 6.30pm along with the area legislator and walked through the streets for 48 minutes, before concluding his padyatra and getting into his car.

In a one-and-a-quarter-minute video shared by AAP workers on social media, a group of people were seen raising slogans and showing black flags to Kejriwal. The police personnel, managing the crowd, were seen trying to push them away.

HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the clip.

Soon as the march ended, allegations of the attack started surfacing.

“Today, fatal attacks are being planned during padyatra to take his life. If anything happens to Kejriwal, the people of Delhi will never forgive the BJP and take revenge on the BJP. The people of Delhi know that every time Arvind Kejriwal was attacked, the attacker turned out to be from the BJP. The BJP stops the BJP from taking action against its worker because the conspiracy of the BJP will be exposed,” Atishi said.

“The BJP knows that it cannot defeat Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP in elections; that is why they have stooped to dirty politics and want to attack Kejriwal, and take his life. In the last two years the BJP left no stone unturned in harassing Arvind Kejriwal. They lodged false case and arrested him in false case (by ED). When he was going to get bail, they used the CBI to arrest him. When Kejriwal was in jail, the BJP refused to give him insulin even though he has been suffering from diabetes for the past 31 years,” she added.

Delhi BJP chief Sachdeva said the events reflected public anger, rather than a planned attack.

“Kejriwal has lived in Sheesh Mahal for long and has lost the habit of walking on the streets. When the people are asking him questions, he calls it an attack by the BJP... And now, the people of Delhi are asking questions,” he said.

West Delhi MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat said the people of Delhi are frustrated by the city’s deteriorating condition and are taking to the streets to protest against Kejriwal.

“The AAP MLA from Vikaspuri is infamous as a water mafia. This week, we even saw the MLAs of Matiala and Sangam Vihar being beaten by the public. Just last night, a video of Sangam Vihar MLA Dinesh Mohaniya being beaten over water black-marketing went viral. Kejriwal needs to understand this anger,” she claimed.