After eggs and ink, this time AAP convener, Arvind Kejriwal, was punched during a roadshow in South Delhi’s Dakshinpuri area. The former Delhi Chief Minister who was campaigning for AAP’s South Delhi candidate, Devinder Sehrawat, had to abruptly end his roadshow after a man punched him on the back of his neck and tried to slap him. Making it the fourth incident in less than a month where Kejriwal and other AAP members were attacked, many have been left wondering if such cases are mere publicity stunts or is the party gradually losing its hold over the masses.
The accused, once an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) worker, who slapped Arvind Kejriwal, appears to have taken a leaf out of his erstwhile party’s book. He thought if Jarnail Singh, a former journalist who hurled shoes at the then Home Minister P Chidambaram got a lok Sabha ticket, he could also get himself in the circulation. Abdul Wahid, a resident of Batla House in Jamia area once was actively involved as a volunteer. He was angry as he had failed to meet Kejriwal and wanted to ask him why no protest was held against the perpetrators of Muzaffarnagar riots as promised by the party. He saw an opportunity during Kejriwal’s roadshow on Friday. He first climbed the motorcade and garlanded Kejriwal and then hit him twice on his neck. The incident left AAP convener bewildered but his volunteers pounced upon Wahid and beat him black and blue.
In 2009, Jarnail Singh had hurled a shoe at the then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram to protest against the clean chit given by the CBI to Congress leader HKl Bhagat in the 1984 riots case and a Congress ticket to Sajjan Kumar.
In March this year, an egg was also hurled at Kejriwal’s car outside the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi where he will be contesting against BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the coming lok Sabha elections. On the same day, he, along with other AAP leaders, was victim of an ink attack. Within a span of days, Kejriwal has been targeted several times in Gujarat, Haryana, Varanasi, and the latest one being, Delhi, from where his party had won 28 seats in the Delhi Assembly elections.
“The attacker alleged that he was thrashed by AAP party workers and the party workers have given a complaint that he hit Kejriwal first while garlanding. A cross-FIR with this regard would be registered,” said DCP South-East,P Karunakaran.
later the man was thrashed by AAP workers and handed over to police. “Some people are ready to go to any extent to become Prime Minister. let them do whatever they are doing. Our religion teaches us non-violence. If we raise our hands, this movement will come to an end,” Kejriwal said, while blaming BJP for the assault. Appealing for calm, the AAP leader asked his supporters not to indulge in any violence.