Day after attack on Kejriwal\, AAP workers hit streets\, say BJP wants party chief eliminated

Day after attack on Kejriwal, AAP workers hit streets, say BJP wants party chief eliminated

Press Trust of India  |  New Delhi 

The kept up its attack on the and Police on Wednesday, a day after a man flung chilli powder on Arvind Kejriwal, alleging the saffron party's leadership wants the minister eliminated and terming Police a "biased" force which protects "anti-social elements".

Listing the attacks on the in the run-up to the 2013 election and the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari, however, rubbished the allegations and said the attack on Kejriwal was "scripted" by and that it was the ruling party's "modus operandi" before every election to gain "sympathy".

On Tuesday, a man threw chilli powder at Kejriwal outside his office in the The chief minister's spectacles broke but he was not injured in the attack. The attacker, identified as Anil Kumar Sharma, has been arrested.

The AAP MLAs in a letter to Kejriwal also criticised the "attitude" of in cases of attack on him, saying it puts question mark on "impartiality" of the force.

"Besides you, attacks on AAP leaders and workers take place and the attitude of in such matters raises question over its impartiality," they said.

Delhi Deputy alleged the BJP leadership had knowledge of the attack on and that the opposition party wanted the AAP "eliminated".

"(Union) called Kejriwal and asked him to file a complaint in the attack on him. Is this the way an attack on a chief minister should be probed?" Sisodia asked at a press conference. Sharma's profile shows that he is a member of the (BJP), he said.

"The profile of the accused and his comments after being apprehended yesterday makes it amply clear that he is an member of the BJP. His profile photo is of and his entire is filled with vitriolic hate against Arvind Kejriwal," Sisodia said in a statement. A purported video of Sharma's interrogation was shown during the press conference.

"The bonhomie between the accused and the interrogators can be seen," Sisodia said lashing out at the Delhi Police, which the (AAP) has termed a "biased force".

In the past four years, four attacks have been made on the chief minister and the Delhi Police has not even filed a charge sheet in the first case, the alleged. The Aadhaar card of the accused also revealed that he lived next to the BJP and former MLA Karan Singh Tanwar, according to the statement.

Sisodia demanded a probe into allegations that the BJP was present at the secretariat when the attack on Kejriwal took place. However, Sisodia said, "After failing to stop Kejriwal from working for the people of Delhi, now the BJP wants him eliminated. The entire series of events indicate that top BJP leadership had knowledge of the attack on Kejriwal."

The also lashed out at the Delhi Police, alleging it was acting on the behest of the BJP and trying to save the culprit.

Even 24 hours after the attack, Delhi's has not reacted on it. This means that he also knew about it, Sisodia alleged.

The AAP staged a protest near the headquarters against the attack and termed the Delhi Police a "biased force" which was protecting "lunatics and anti-social elements". Party volunteers raised slogans against the BJP and its leaders marched from the AAP office, but were stopped at a barricade near the BJP office.

At the protest, AAP alleged that the attacks on the party would intensify in coming days since the BJP was baffled, which, he added, was evident by deletion of 15 lakh voters' names in Delhi.

MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj called the Delhi Police a "biased force", which was protecting "lunatics and anti-social elements", making the chief minister and his ministers vulnerable. Other leaders, including Dilip Pandey, Atishi, and Rituraj, also slammed the BJP and the Delhi Police over the attack.

Meanwhile, addressing a conference here, Delhi BJP chief listed the attacks on the AAP chief in the run-up to the 2013 election and the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

"The attack on the CM was scripted by the AAP. Before the incident, the man who attacked Kejriwal was in touch with the CM's office. He gained entry into the after the CM's office asked for it...It is the AAP's modus operandi before every election to seek people's sympathy," Tiwari told reporters.

The BJP leader termed the incident as another "drama" ahead of the Lok Sabha election to be held early next year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Wed, November 21 2018. 21:20 IST