E-Paper
Video of AAP MLA being roughed up shared by BJP, then a rebuttal amid sparring
MCD elections: This is the latest flashpoint between the two parties as the MCD polls near. The votes for the elections will be counted on December 7.
With the national capital set to vote in the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) polls on December 5, the sparring between the BJP - which is currently ruling the civic body - and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), ruling the city, is intensifying each day. On Monday, a fresh controversy erupted when the leaders of the BJP shared a clip of an AAP MLA being roughed up. “Theatrical drama” and “unprecedented scenes” were the words used by the BJP’s national spokesperson - Sambit Patra - as he targeted the rival party. To this, the AAP MLA whose purported video was being shared - Gulab Singh Yadav - hit back, saying that the BJP’s fear of losing MCD polls was evident in such claims.
"Unprecedented scenes from the party that indulged in the theatrical drama of ‘honest politics’. Such is AAP’s corruption that even their members are not sparing their MLAs! A similar outcome awaits them in upcoming MCD polls. (sic)," the BJP's Sambit Patra wrote on Twitter, along with a video.
While the authenticity of the clip could not be verified by HT, it captured scenes of chaos at a public meeting. Some men can be heard hurling insults at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while the AAP MLA is seen surrounded. Tensions suddenly escalate amid shouting as the party leader is then seen getting thrashed.
Among other BJP leaders who commented on the video were Ajay Sehrawat, Delhi BJP spokesperson, and Tajinder Pal Bagga. While Sehrawat repeated his party’s cash-for-tickets claims, Bagga said that the Chief Minister must be seeking Bharat Ratna honour for the leader. Kejriwal - in the past - has sought national award for his deputy Manish Sisodia and Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain, who has been in jail since many months.
In response to the BJP’s attack, Yadav shared another video and linked the attack to the rival party and the upcoming civic body polls. “BJP has gone berserk. The party is making baseless allegations of selling tickets. I am at Chhawla police station now, and I have seen BJP's corporator and BJP's candidate from this ward present in the police station to save those people (who attacked)… what can be a bigger proof than this. The media is present here, must ask the BJP,” he tweeted in Hindi. Many of his party colleagues tweeted posts support him as the clip of the incident was widely shared on social media.
This is the latest flashpoint between the two parties as the MCD polls near. The votes for the elections will be counted on December 7.
