Former Delhi chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was slapped twice by an auto-rickshaw driver while he was campaigning for Rakhi Birla in northwest Delhi’s Sultanpuri on Tuesday. The incident comes less than a week when Kejriwal was punched in south east Delhi's Dakshinpuri.
The accused approached Kejriwal with a garland and managed to slap him twice despite the AAP leader
being surrounded by Delhi Police officers in plain clothes.
Kejriwal was in an open jeep when the accused identified as 38-year-old Lali in a blue shirt reached up and first garlanded the AAP chief and then slapped him hard on his left cheek twice. The attacker was immediately pinned down to the ground by AAP supporters and after being bashed up by was handed over to police. He is undergoing treatment in the hospital.
Lali accused Kejriwal and Rakhi Birla of ‘betraying auto-drivers’. “They took Rs 10 as donation from us and they did not do any work,” Lali was shouting in police custody.
“We have registered a case of assault under respective section of Indian Penal Code against the accused for hitting the former chief minister,” said a senior police officer.
Immediately after the attack, Kejriwal said, “I forgive those who attack me. Assault me as much as you want, I won’t retaliate. I appeal to volunteers not to retaliate, otherwise there is no difference between us and them.”
Kejriwal left the venue after few minutes and went Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial Rajghat with a swollen left eye and stayed there for an hour in silence along with his around 100 of supporters. He thereafter headed for his house.
"I went to Rajghat to pray to Gandhiji and sought his blessings to follow the path of non-violence and truth. We are going through a tough time and he should give us power to bear with it," Kejriwal told reporters at his Tilak Lane residence. He said this the fifth attack on him and police has failed to do anything about it.
Citing threat to his life, Kejriwal said: "The attack was per-meditated and planned by a particular person." He, however, denied to accept security and said he has forgiven the attackers for his fight is not against any particular person but the system.
“My car was attacked in Gujarat, somebody threw ink on me in Varanasi, an attempt was made in Bhiwani and two recent attacks have happened in Delhi. If police wanted to take action they would have taken,” he said.
He appealed to the party workers and volunteers to remain calm as in coming days more such attacks will happen.
In the meantime, the Delhi Congress and BJP termed the incident as a drama and accused him of trying to gain media’s attention even after the end of election campaign.
Congress spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said, “It seems like the entire incident was a drama to gain media attention even after the end of election campaign. If Kejriwal was really upset with the slapping incident, he could have sought medical assistance and demanded for an FIR against the accused. What is the point going to Raj Ghat after the incident?”
Reacting to the incident, BJP’s Sanjay Kaul said, “It is clear that Kejriwal is becoming the victim of the anarchist trend he himself started. This is the third or fourth such friendly attack on him. Either his supporters are angry for being let down or else these are orchestrated attacks designed to create a sensation.”
The Congress advised Kejriwal for taking security. “First he denied taking security cover. When the central government insisted he took accepted security from back door. Now, he must understand what the need of security is for politicians,” he added.
ENDS
The accused approached Kejriwal with a garland and managed to slap him twice despite the AAP leader
Kejriwal was in an open jeep when the accused identified as 38-year-old Lali in a blue shirt reached up and first garlanded the AAP chief and then slapped him hard on his left cheek twice. The attacker was immediately pinned down to the ground by AAP supporters and after being bashed up by was handed over to police. He is undergoing treatment in the hospital.
Lali accused Kejriwal and Rakhi Birla of ‘betraying auto-drivers’. “They took Rs 10 as donation from us and they did not do any work,” Lali was shouting in police custody.
“We have registered a case of assault under respective section of Indian Penal Code against the accused for hitting the former chief minister,” said a senior police officer.
Immediately after the attack, Kejriwal said, “I forgive those who attack me. Assault me as much as you want, I won’t retaliate. I appeal to volunteers not to retaliate, otherwise there is no difference between us and them.”
Kejriwal left the venue after few minutes and went Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial Rajghat with a swollen left eye and stayed there for an hour in silence along with his around 100 of supporters. He thereafter headed for his house.
"I went to Rajghat to pray to Gandhiji and sought his blessings to follow the path of non-violence and truth. We are going through a tough time and he should give us power to bear with it," Kejriwal told reporters at his Tilak Lane residence. He said this the fifth attack on him and police has failed to do anything about it.
Citing threat to his life, Kejriwal said: "The attack was per-meditated and planned by a particular person." He, however, denied to accept security and said he has forgiven the attackers for his fight is not against any particular person but the system.
“My car was attacked in Gujarat, somebody threw ink on me in Varanasi, an attempt was made in Bhiwani and two recent attacks have happened in Delhi. If police wanted to take action they would have taken,” he said.
He appealed to the party workers and volunteers to remain calm as in coming days more such attacks will happen.
In the meantime, the Delhi Congress and BJP termed the incident as a drama and accused him of trying to gain media’s attention even after the end of election campaign.
Congress spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said, “It seems like the entire incident was a drama to gain media attention even after the end of election campaign. If Kejriwal was really upset with the slapping incident, he could have sought medical assistance and demanded for an FIR against the accused. What is the point going to Raj Ghat after the incident?”
Reacting to the incident, BJP’s Sanjay Kaul said, “It is clear that Kejriwal is becoming the victim of the anarchist trend he himself started. This is the third or fourth such friendly attack on him. Either his supporters are angry for being let down or else these are orchestrated attacks designed to create a sensation.”
The Congress advised Kejriwal for taking security. “First he denied taking security cover. When the central government insisted he took accepted security from back door. Now, he must understand what the need of security is for politicians,” he added.
ENDS
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