According to the Delhi police, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by an AAP supporter during a roadshow on Saturday because he was dissatisfied with the behaviour of the party leaders.
However, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday cited a news report in a tweet saying that the attacker’s wife said that he “is a Modi-bhakt”, adding that the police claimed her husband was an AAP leader.
Sisodia said in a tweet, “The attacker’s wife is saying that her husband is a Modi-bhakt, police claims he was an AAP leader. It is possible that after the interrogation of BJP (Delhi) Police, this man could deny that this woman is not his wife.”
Sisodia also slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the incident on Saturday. “Do [Narendra] Modi and Amit Shah want Kejriwal to be murdered,” Sisodia tweeted, attacking the prime minister and the BJP chief.
He said the BJP could not break the morale of Kejriwal, nor could not defeat him in elections in five years. “Now you want him removed from your way like this. You cowards,” he said in a tweet.
AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj had alleged that the Delhi Police had planted the man. “Delhi Police planting that man belonged to AAP, this is really shameful given the fact that the attacker’s wife has herself said he was a Modi-bhakt and did not like anyone talking against Modi. This is the same Delhi Police which had planted earlier that no ‘mirchi attack’ happened on the chief minister. It was later when the Delhi government provided CCTV footage to Delhi Police that left its political masters red-faced,” Bharadwaj said.
The incident took place when Mr Kejriwal was atop an open jeep during the roadshow and suddenly a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before being pulled off the jeep.
The 33-year-old man, identified as Suresh, who is a scrap dealer in the area, has been a supporter of the Aam Aadmi Party and used to work as an organiser of the party’s rallies and meetings, they said.
According to Suresh, over time he got disenchanted due to the behaviour of party leaders and he was angered further due to the party’s “distrust in the armed forces,” the police said.
Anil Mittal, Additional PRO (Delhi Police) said, “An enquiry by a DCP-level officer has been ordered to inquire as to how this person was allowed to be in the reception or proximate group.”
“Today, he was wearing a cap (which he later took off) and scarf of the AAP and was in the reception group of the CM. No one objected to him being there as he had been an organiser for the party. He was standing near the front right tyre of the Gypsy. He took off the scarf, climbed the bonnet and attempted to assault the CM,” Delhi Police said in its statement.
On Sunday, Delhi Police registered an FIR under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) against Suresh.
Meanwhile, opposition BJP and Congress expressed “doubts” that the incident was the handiwork of the AAP to gain the sympathy of voters before the Lok Sabha polls in the city.
Delhi Congress spokesperson Jitender Kochar said, “The incident is as an old move of Kejriwal to stage-manage attacks on him and then seek public sympathy. But the people of Delhi will not succumb to this political manoeuvre by him.”
Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said his party does not support violence. “But I have doubts as to why such incidents happen with Kejriwal in election time only. I doubt this incident may have been scripted by Kejriwal himself,” he said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted, “Political vandalism. Political goondaism. Political vendetta. Maligning and attacking opposition leaders show that BJP has lost the election and are making desperate attempts. We condemn the attack on Arvind Kejriwal. We are all with you, Arvind.”
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, “I strongly denounce such dastardly act and Delhi Police must take responsibility for this heinous act of slapping a democratically elected CM. Such attacks will only strengthen our resolve to fight for strengthening democracy. After trying to defeat him, demoralize him, degrade him, destabilize him, dethrone him, and destroy his party, the forces that have destroyed institutions, derailed federal principles are now attempting to physically attack Arvind Kejriwal.”
Former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, JD(U) MP Sharad Yadav, Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, SP president Akhilesh Yadav also condemned the attacks.
