Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Prashant Bhushan was targeted, once again, by an ultra nationalist group in Indore on Friday. Bhushan was in the city to campaign for party candidate Anil Trivedi, a human rights lawyer like himself.
Members of the hitherto unknown Rashtrawadi Sansthan Devpath (Nationalist Organisation God's Path) stormed his press conference with black flags at a hotel in the Tukoganj police circle at around 1.30 p.m. They raised slogans against Bhushan's 2011 demand for a plebiscite as a solution to rebellion in Kashmir.
An unidentified member of the group, sporting a tuft of a priest and a saffron tilak, then rushed towards Bhushan from behind and took off his party cap. The man then started yelling, "Why have you given Kashmir to Pakistan? Jai Jai Shri Ram! Shoot this *** traitor." He was taken away by AAP members who were heckled by Devpath men outside.
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Bhushan blamed the BJP for the incident. "The BJP has bred criminal gangs like the Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena (who assaulted him in 2011), the Hindu Rashtra Sena and other private armies. They have repeatedly
attacked our members because they are afraid."
Members of the group led by BJP supporter Mukesh Rajawat then got into a scuffle with AAP men, who sat down in dharna. Police personnel present did not separate the groups or clear the area. Devpath workers also tried to block Bhushan's vehicle form proceeding to Harda to campaign for AAP's Khandwa candidate Alok Agarwal.
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Rajawat told reporters, "We were only shouting slogans outside and we don't know who entered inside. AAP always does these stage managed attacks. Bhushan is a Pakistani agent and we won't allow him to remain in Indore."
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Indore) Rakesh Gupta told The Hindu that the police couldn't intervene as neither had the organisers informed them of the press meet nor had they filed a complaint. "We gave them full security for the road show. Our men were not deployed at the hotel as we had not been informed. Officers went to the spot when we received information of protests. We can identify the suspects only if AAP complains."
Bhushan added that he was not interested in filing an FIR. Sources said that this was a strategic move to protect AAP campaigners from being bogged down in court proceedings during the campaign. AAP's Indore secretary Yuvraj Singh told this paper that two of the members have suffered injuries. The party's Madhya Pradesh convener Akshay Hunka said he would complain to the state's Chief Electoral Officer Jaideep Govind.