Delhi govt calls special Assembly session to discuss red chilli powder attack on Kejriwal

The AAP has blamed the ruling BJP at the Centre for the attack on Kejriwal.

NEW DELHI: The Aam Admi Party (AAP) government in Delhi on Thursday called a special session of the state assembly to discuss the recent chilli-power attack on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Centre's stand on the issue.

"A special session of the state assembly will be held on Monday to discuss the attack on the CM and stand of the Centre and Delhi Police,'' Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was quoted as saying by the ANI.

Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia says, "A special session of the Assembly will be held on Monday to discuss the attack on the CM & stand of the centre and Delhi police. Besides this issue, the deletion of 30 Lakh voters in Delhi, done by BJP along with EC, will also be discussed." pic.twitter.com/cKPlu2eEjr — ANI (@ANI) November 22, 2018

''Besides this issue, the deletion of 30 lakh voters in Delhi, allegedly done by BJP along with the EC, will also be discussed," Sisodia said.

It is to be noted that the Delhi government and the Centre are at loggerheads over various issues including the recent chilli-powder attack on the Kejriwal.

The AAP government had blamed the ruling BJP at the Centre for the attack and accused it of hatching a conspiracy to kill Kejriwal.

Though he did not name any party, the AAP chief had on Wednesday said that he had been attacked several times in the past two years all such incidents were the handiwork of his rivals.

The Chief Minister said that he has become the biggest obstacle in the path of his rivals and that's why they are trying to eliminate him.

''I've been attacked four times in two years. It's not a minor issue. These attacks aren't taking place, they're being ordered. Humlog inki aankhon ka roda ban chuke hain. Ye log milke mujhe marwana chahte hain. (We have become the biggest obstacles in their path. They want to eliminate. That's why I am being attacked again and again),'' Kejriwal said while responding to questions on the chilli powder attack on him.

His deputy Sisodia too alleged that the BJP leadership had knowledge of the attack on Chief Minister and the opposition party wants the latter eliminated to stop him from working for the people.

The reaction from the two AAP leaders came hours after a man flung chilli powder at Kejriwal outside his office in the Delhi Secretariat. 

The Chief Minister's spectacles broke but he was not injured in the attack.

The attacker, identified as Anil Kumar Sharma, was arrested and later sent to judicial custody for 14 days by Delhi's Tis Hazari Court.

"(Union) Home Minister Rajnath Singh 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 Facebook profile shows that he is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Sisodia alleged.

The BJP had termed the incident as "drama" by Kejriwal, with its Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari demanding a high-level probe into it.

"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," Sisodia claimed.

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

The Delhi Police registered a case against Sharma at the IP Estate police station late on Tuesday.