Kejriwal ‘attack’: AAP blames BJYM leaders; BJP hits back

AAP accuses BJP's youth wing of attacking Arvind Kejriwal during a foot march in Delhi; BJP denies allegations, calling them a political conspiracy.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday pointed fingers at the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) — the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — for the alleged “attack” on AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal during his “padyatra (foot march)” in Vikaspuri, west Delhi, on Friday evening.

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal during his padyatra at Vikas Puri on Friday. (PTI)

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, showing a video at a press conference, said the attackers “could be identified as BJYM state vice-president Rohit Sehrawat and general secretary Arun Drall”.

“One of the attackers, Rohit Sehrawat, is the state vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). Rohit Sehrawat is... the main accused in the attack on Arvind Kejriwal. Another, Arun Drall, is the state general secretary of the BJYM. These people are openly threatening that this hooliganism will not be done only in Vikaspuri but wherever Arvind Kejriwal goes in Delhi, these people will do hooliganism there,” Singh said.

Rohit Sehrawat and Arun Drall denied the allegations, terming AAP’s claims “lies”.

“I am the state vice-president of Delhi BJP youth wing. I happened to be in Vikaspuri, close to where Kejriwal held a padyatra, for a meeting with local youth wing leaders of the BJP. A group of locals protested against Kejriwal over dirty and stinky water being supplied, and they asked Kejriwal to drink it, due to which the AAP falsely alleged attack. If we have attacked him, Kejriwal should lodge an FIR against us,” Rohit Sehrawat said.

Sanjay Singh said: “Whatever unfolded at Vikaspuri padyatra on Friday, and the way police’s collusion has been exposed, it was a well-planned conspiracy to take Arvind Kejriwal’s life, to play with his life. BJP members are after Arvind Kejriwal’s life, conspiring and attacking him in mobs where anything could have happened,” Singh said during a press conference at AAP headquarters.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Shikha Rai said: “There is widespread resentment among residents and RWAs against the AAP government. Not only the general public, but also BJP workers are suffering due to these issues. Some of these workers joined the Vikaspuri protest with local citizen groups, but neither the citizen organisations nor the BJP Yuva Morcha workers resorted to violence or misconduct,” Shikha Rai said.

On Friday evening, Delhi chief minister said in a press conference that a group of people, who were “BJP workers”, came close to Kejriwal on the pretext of garlanding him, raised slogans against him, and “attacked” him. Atishi, or other AAP leaders, however, did not specify the nature of the attack on Kejriwal. To be sure, Kejriwal did not suffer physical harm or injury in the incident.

In a separate press conference on Saturday, AAP minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the “attackers” had unsuccessfully contested MCD elections on a BJP ticket. “Their roles within the BJP’s youth wing are publicly displayed on their Facebook and Instagram profiles, making it clear they are not simply ordinary citizens, as some BJP leaders have suggested,” Bharadwaj said.

Singh said that the leader of Opposition (LoP) in Delhi assembly, Vijender Gupta, also came out in support of the attackers.

LoP Vijender Gupta said the allegations of attack were false and are part of a “conspiracy by the AAP” to malign BJP. “Despite blaming the BJP for the attack, AAP didn’t even file a police complaint. It indicates that AAP is trying to create a specific narrative to play the victim card and gain sympathy,” Gupta said.

Singh also hit out at the Delhi Police. “It is clearly visible in the video that the SHO is folding his hands in front of the attackers. This is the Delhi Police, which is responsible for the security of Arvind Kejriwal. This is Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s police and they are laughing and talking with the attackers. Both Rohit and Arun are present in the video,” Singh said.

“No amount of condemnation of this reprehensible violent politics of BJP is enough. But now these incidents have become a matter of serious concern. This attack is worrisome. If the national convener of a national party, a person who has been the chief minister of Delhi thrice, is being attacked by a mob in collusion with the police, this is a matter of serious concern…if anything happens to Arvind Kejriwal, the BJP will be directly responsible for it,” Singh said.

Asked if the AAP will lodge a complaint with the police, Singh said police must take cognisance of a crime that took place in their presence and file an FIR. “Police itself is in cahoots with the attackers. So how will the police take action? The police itself is a part of the conspiracy,” Singh said.

A Delhi Police spokesperson said they will look into the allegations but haven’t found any evidence of “an attack” on the former CM. “There was heavy security on the route, and nobody witnessed an incident. No incident was flagged to us either,” the spokesperson said.