Delhi CM attack: ‘Photo’ of attacker, AAP MLA sparks row

The row started over an image posted by BJP MLA Harish Khurana, in which the attacker was seen with Gopal Italia, an AAP Gujarat leader. The AAP refuted the allegation, calling it an AI-generated image

New Delhi

Police at the CM’s residence. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

The attack on Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta during a “Jan Sunwai (public hearing)” programme sparked a war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with the former alleging a “conspiracy” behind the attack and the opposition party an attempt by the BJP to defame the AAP.

The row started over an image posted by BJP MLA Harish Khurana, in which the attacker was seen with Gopal Italia, an AAP Gujarat leader. The AAP refuted the allegation, calling it an AI-generated image.

BJP parliamentarian Ramvir Singh Bidhuri demanded a screening of the attacker’s phone logs. “The conspiracy behind the attack must be exposed to find out who is upset with the significant development made by Rekha Gupta’s government within just six months and who wants to harm her. The CCTV footage clearly shows that the attacker first conducted a recce of the CM’s residence. It should be investigated who the attacker spoke to on the phone during the recce. To whom was the attacker providing all the information?” Bidhuri said.

Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa also alleged a “political conspiracy” behind the attack. “I condemn the attack on the chief minister during today’s Jan Sunwai. Our CM worries for Delhi day and night, and anyone can come and meet the CM at her residence. This is a conspiracy by rivals. They can’t tolerate that a CM remains amid the public for hours, that she meets people at her residence. So, there seems to be a political conspiracy behind this. Delhi Police is investigating this. All facts will come out,” Manjinder Singh Sirsa said in a video statement.

In a statement, the AAP said that a picture of a person named Rajesh Sakaria was edited and AI was used to create a manipulated image alongside the photo of AAP MLA Gopal Bhai Italia by Delhi BJP MLA Harish Khurana.

In a video statement, Gopal Italia said, “The cheap move by the Delhi BJP leader is absolutely wrong. An old video has been edited and a fake photo of someone has been used to do this cheap act. I appeal to all BJP leaders to avoid fake news…I will have to move the court and police against the spreading of fake news.”

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal condemned the attack, saying violence had no place in a democracy. “The attack on Delhi’s Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is highly condemnable. In a democratic system, differences of opinion and opposition are acceptable, but there can be no place for violence. I am confident that the Delhi Police will take appropriate action. I hope the Chief Minister is completely safe and healthy,” Kejriwal said in a post on X.

In a video statement, AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Today, news is coming in that Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was attacked, someone tried to slap her. This is absolutely condemnable. Any form of violence has no place in our society, and Mahatma Gandhi taught us this hundred years ago. The question is—which parties and which ideologies are promoting violence in the country and in society? Who is patronising violence, encouraging it, legitimising it?”

Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said the security lapse indicated the “deteriorating law and order situation in the Capital with crimes against women witnessing a sharp spike.”

“When the Chief Minister of Delhi is not safe, how will the security of the common people of Delhi and women working outside their homes be ensured? The blatant attack on CM Rekha Gupta by a man against whom there are many police complaints pending, is a huge security lapse. It raises a big question about the poor law and order as those in power seems to be in deep slumber with crimes proliferating everywhere, including the business of drug in every nook and corner of the city,” Yadav said.