'Wanted To Burn Kejriwal Alive': AAP Claims Attacker's Link With BJP, Saffron Party Responds

Bharadwaj took to X and attacked the BJP, alleging that the attacker was connected with the saffron party.

(Photo: ANI)

Attack On Arvind Kejriwal: Reacting on the attack on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Saturday alleged that the man held for attacking wanted to set him afire after throwing spirit on him during his Padyatra campaign.

Bharadwaj took to social media platform X and attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that the attacker was connected with the saffron party. The incident took place on Saturday evening when Kejriwal was greeting people standing behind a cordon when the man approached him and splashed some liquid on him. Following the incident, the security personnel swiftly overpowered him. The AAP chief and the security personnel accompanying him were later seen wiping their faces.

"A man threw a spirit on him (Kejriwal). We could smell it. And there was an attempt to burn him (Kejriwal) alive,” Bharadwaj said. Speaking at a press conference, he claimed, "The man was carrying spirit in one hand and a matchbox in the other. He threw the spirit, which fell on Kejriwal and me, but he could not start the fire. Our alert volunteers and the public caught him."

The attacker was beaten up by people present there before he was taken away by the police from the spot. The Delhi Minister lashed out at the BJP and alleged that the attacker is a registered member of the saffron party and pointed to his social media profile, which, he said, contained multiple photos with senior saffron party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The profile also displayed a BJP membership card, confirming the attacker's ties to the party, he said. Reacting to the allegations levelled by Bharadwaj, the BJP has strongly refuted the charges, with its Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva claiming the incident of throwing "water" on Kejriwal was an old tactic of the AAP. "Delhiites are asking why such incidents happen with him only," he said.

While speaking at the press conference, Bharadwaj commented on the law-and-order situation in the national capital and slammed the BJP for a rise in violence. The Delhi Police comes under the purview of the Union Home Ministry. "Under the BJP's watch, criminals have become emboldened. From daylight shootings in upscale areas like Greater Kailash to the murder of a gym owner, the BJP has failed to protect the citizens of Delhi," he said.

Bharadwaj claimed that the attack on Kejriwal was an assault on the very idea of democracy. "If a former chief minister is not safe, how can ordinary citizens expect protection in this city?" he posed.

(With PTI Inputs)