Raghav Chadha accuses BJP of vandalising his office, attacking staff; party denies

NEW DELHI:  Delhi Jal Board (DJB) vice-chairman and AAP MLA Raghav Chadha on Thursday claimed that BJP workers vandalised his office and warned him and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal against supporting the protesting farmers. A group of around 150 people led by Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta entered the premises of the Delhi Jal Board headquarters located at Jhandewalan, vandalising the building and properties, claimed Chadha. The BJP denied the allegations saying the attack was orchestrated by the AAP itself.

The incident happened around 12.30 pm when several men entered the building after forcibly opening the main gate. The mob then broke the glass door at the entrance of the DJB office and went on destroying furniture and other things. “We had no idea that the BJP workers would be barging into here or would create such a scene. The mob was her for 10-15 minutes and vandalised a lot of property. They broke chairs, tables, windows, glass doors, and even threatened employees,” said Abhishek Bhattacharya, an advisor to Chadha, who was present at the office during the incident. 

Chadha later addressed the media and alleged that the ‘BJP goons’ threatened him by saying that if AAP doesn’t stop supporting the farmers then similar attacks will take place against other AAP leaders. “Over a hundred BJP goons broke the doors, windows, benches, and vandalised the entire office. They destroyed our printers, computers and other important items. They threatened and beat my employees. There are bloodstains on the floor in our office.

Many people have suffered severe injuries. Some of our staff is already hospitalised and some are getting treated at a dispensary. The BJP goons also attacked the women security guards and employees of the Board,” said Chadha. “In front of my cabin, the BJP threatened me by saying that they are here to teach me a lesson. They threatened by saying that the AAP and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are continuously standing beside the farmers and you must stop this,” Chadha said.

Kejriwal called the attack “shameful” and said the AAP would not be cowed down by such an act. “The BJP should understand that the AAP and my government are with the farmers till our last breath. We are not afraid of such cowardly attacks,” he tweeted.Meanwhile, Delhi BJP alleged that the AAP had itself orchestrated the attack. 

“BJP was staging a peaceful demonstration outside the DJB office against the tanker scam. AAP workers forcibly barged into the office, vandalised and attacked the BJP workers. The Kejriwal government has conspired to defame us by staging this attack,” Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said. Around 30 people have been detained from the DJB office, a senior police officer said.