A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was attacked by a man as he walked out of his office in the Delhi Secretariat, Deputy Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia alleged on Wednesday that the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had planned the incident.
Mr. Kejriwal was attacked on Tuesday afternoon by a man who, on the pretext of conveying a grievance, lunged at the Chief Minister, breaking his glasses. He also attempted to smear red chilli powder on his face. The attacker, identified as Anil Kumar Sharma, was arrested.
Addressing a press conference at the AAP office here, Mr. Sisodia said the police initially said the chilli powder may have fallen accidentally during the commotion. However, CCTV footage showed it was indeed an attack, he said.
“Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called the Chief Minister and asked him to file a police complaint. I find it surprising that they expect the Chief Minister to give a complaint when the incident happened in the presence of the police,” Mr. Sisodia said. The Delhi Police took suo-motu cognisance of the matter and lodged an FIR late on Tuesday.
Citing posts targeting the AAP and Mr. Kejriwal, Mr. Sisodia said the accused in his Facebook profile identified himself as working with the BJP. “The attacker is a BJP worker... The top leadership of the BJP was behind the incident. The BJP is conspiring to have Mr. Kejriwal murdered,” he said.
Mr. Sisodia pointed out that this was the fourth attack on the Chief Minister, who has had shoes and ink hurled at him at public events. “The police have failed to file chargesheets in any of the cases. On the other hand, if there is an allegation against any AAP MLA or Minister, they are quick to investigate and file chargesheets,” he said.
Mr. Sisodia also alleged that the BJP-led Central government was trying to stop the AAP government from working, by issuing orders and using investigations. However, they had failed, he said. “Now, they are trying to stop us by having Mr. Kejriwal murdered,” he added.
While Mr. Sisodia declined to say what the AAP would do, sources said the party was seeking legal opinion on this matter and on the pending chargesheets in the previous attacks.
AAP leaders and workers also staged a demonstration near the BJP headquarters on Wednesday to protest against the party and the Delhi Police. AAP spokesperson and Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said the police were a “biased force” that was protecting “lunatics and anti-social elements”.
