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'There can be no place for violence': Arvind Kejriwal on attack on Delhi CM Rekha Gupta
In a democratic system, differences of opinion and opposition are acceptable, but there can be no place for violence, Kejriwal said on attack on CM Rekha Gupta.
Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday called the alleged attack on Delhi's chief minister Rekha Gupta at her residence “highly condemnable” and said there can be no place of violence.
In a democratic system, differences of opinion and opposition are acceptable, but there can be no place for violence, former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a post on X.
“I am confident that the Delhi Police will take appropriate action. I hope the chief minister is completely safe and healthy,” he added.
Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta was attacked on Wednesday during a Jan Sunvai or public hearing event at her residence in Civil Lines, an incident that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) condemned and said was being investigated by the police.
A man, who identified himself as 41-year-old Rajesh from Gujarat's Rajkot, was arrested in connection with the incident.
While initial reports said a man slapped Rekha Gupta, BJP Delhi unit president Virendraa Sachdeva refuted the claims, saying that the chief minister might have hit her head against the edge of a table after there was commotion when a man tried to pull her during the event.
Virendraa Sachdeva dismissed the reports of Delhi CM Rekha Gupta getting slapped as “fabricated”.
He said the incident involved a man trying to pull the CM’s hand, which led to some jostling during which “maybe her head touched the edge of a table "a little,” adding that she had been examined by doctors and was stable.
People in CM's office had initially said that the chief minister was interacting with citizens and listening to their grievances when a man suddenly surged forward, handed over an piece of paper to the CM, started talking in a loudly with her, using expletives before “slapping” her.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said he was told that Rekha Gupta's hair was pulled.
"We are being told that he attacked her physically by pulling hair. From the things that he way saying it seems that this person had criminal intent and had political leanings. He has been detained by police. We are waiting further inquiry," Praveen Shankar Kapoor had said.
