With campaigning for the Delhi Assembly elections heating up, claims and counterclaims erupted between AAP and BJP as the former alleged that AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal’s car was pelted with stones in New Delhi constituency on Saturday. However, BJP leader and New Delhi candidate Parvesh Verma refuted AAP’s allegations, saying the AAP chief’s car hit three youths who had been protesting against him. Verma claimed it was Kejriwal who asked the driver of the car to crush them.
“Fearing defeat, BJP panicked, got its goons to attack Arvind Kejriwal,” the AAP, which has been ruling Delhi since 2013, posted on X within minutes of the attack on its leader.
The AAP convener also said the Delhi Police on Saturday stopped the screening of the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) documentary Unbreakable on January 18, citing non-compliance with election guidelines. AAP convener and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the Delhi Police to stop the screening. However, the Delhi Police denied these allegations. The Delhi Police said that “no permission” was taken for the screening of the documentary. The police emphasized that political parties must apply for permission for such events through a single-window system at the District Election Officer’s (DEO) office. It further added that such permission could not be granted or rejected by the police at this time.
The documentary Unbreakable, which explores AAP’s journey during Kejriwal’s leadership and the party’s activities during and after his imprisonment, was scheduled to be screened at Pyarelal Bhawan, ITO, at 11:30 AM.
Its timing coincided with the Delhi Assembly elections, intensifying the political discourse in the capital.
The Aam Aadmi Party wrote on X on Saturday that Kejriwal was attacked by the “people” of BJP candidate Parvesh Verma. “The AAP further alleged that BJP’s Parvesh Verma, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, got his supporters to attack the AAP leader to stop him from campaigning, adding that the people of Delhi will give a befitting reply. ‘The goons of BJP candidate Parvesh Verma targeted Arvind Kejriwal with stones so that he could not campaign. Listen, BJP, Arvind Kejriwal is not going to back down because of your cowardly attack on him. The people of Delhi will give you a befitting reply,’ the AAP posted on X. Manish Sisodia, Kejriwal’s party colleague, was quick to condemn the BJP over the attack.
In a purported video of the incident, Kejriwal can be seen sitting in a vehicle with police personnel clearing the route for it. A black SUV, as shown in the video, is surrounded by security men on either side as a few protesters try to obstruct the car’s way. A big stone comes flying from one end, hits the roof of the car in which Kejriwal is seated, and falls away, as the video shows.
Reacting to the AAP’s allegations, Verma said, “Arvind Kejriwal hit two youths with his vehicle. Both were taken to Lady Hardinge Hospital. Seeing imminent defeat, (he) forgot the price of human lives.” “When AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal was campaigning door-to-door near Lal Bahadur Sadan, people of the New Delhi assembly constituency were asking questions to Kejriwal about employment, etc. When three residents named Vishal, Abhishek, and Rohit, who are unemployed, tried to ask questions to Kejriwal, Punjab Police beat them up and a worker’s phone was broken,” Verma said. He further claimed that Kejriwal signaled the driver to crush them. “AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s car hit the three youths, and the driver of the car applied brakes after seeing the three youths, but Arvind Kejriwal signaled the driver to crush them. They have been injured. This is an attempt to murder, and I am going to the police station. The three youths will also file an FIR, and a case of attempted murder will also be registered,” he added. Police also said that no one pelted stones at Kejriwal’s car, but some people were trying to show black flags to the former chief minister, who was immediately removed from the spot.
Earlier in the morning, the AAP convener shared a picture of the venue of the screening at Pyarelal Bhawan at ITO, showing a heavy police presence. He charged that the police did not allow the screening at the behest of the BJP. “The BJP is completely scared of the documentary because it uncovers the secrets and conspiracies behind the arrest of AAP leaders in the past two years. It exposes the illegal and unconstitutional activities of the BJP,” he alleged.
The AAP chief further questioned why permission was needed for a private screening event. He told a press conference that the documentary Unbreakable was to be shown to the media at the private event, and it was not any political program.
Kejriwal said that the screening was stopped by the Delhi Police because the BJP was scared of this film. “A film has been made on Aam Aadmi Party. Today, when this film was to be shown to journalists, look there, BJP prevented the screening of this film by deploying a huge police force. BJP is very scared of this film,” the AAP national convener said in an X post in Hindi.
“Why? Why does the BJP want to stop this film? What is there in this film that the BJP is scared of? This film exposes all the secrets behind the scenes when AAP leaders were wrongly arrested. It exposes the illegal and unconstitutional actions of the BJP government,” he added. “No votes were going to be sought at the event, nor was anything to be said against any party,” Kejriwal said.
Reacting to the accusations, the police said that “no permission” was taken for the screening of the documentary. The police emphasized that political parties must apply for permission for such events through a single-window system at the District Election Officer’s (DEO) office. It further added that such permission could not be granted or rejected by the police at this time. The force urged the political parties to follow the election rules and regulations during the election period.
“For the said event, no such permission was taken, and hence it would have been a violation of guidelines. We urge all parties to follow the election rules and regulations at this time. As elections have been declared, political parties must apply for permission through a single-window system at the DEO office. This is a standard process during elections,” the Delhi police said. “Further, it is clarified that Delhi Police can neither grant nor reject such permission at this time, as all permissions for political activity are granted through a single-window system in the concerned DEO office,” it added.
