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BJP leadership knew about attack on Kejriwal, wants him 'eliminated': Sisodia

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Press Trust of India New Delhi

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Wednesday alleged that the BJP leadership had knowledge of the attack on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the opposition party wants the AAP leader "eliminated".

On Tuesday, 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, has been arrested.

"(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), he said.

"The Facebook profile of the accused and his comments after being apprehended yesterday makes it amply clear that he is an member of the BJP.

"His profile photo is of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his entire social media presence is filled with vitriolic hate against Arvind Kejriwal," Sisodia said in a statement.

A purported video of Sharma's interrogation was shown during the press conference.

"The bonhomie between the accused and the interrogators can be seen," Sisodia said lashing out at the Delhi Police, which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has termed a "biased force".

In the past four years, four attacks have been made on the chief minister and the Delhi Police has not even filed a charge sheet in the first case, the deputy chief minister alleged.

The Aadhaar card of the accused also revealed that he lived next to the BJP leader and former MLA Karan Singh Tanwar, according to the statement.

Sisodia demanded a probe into allegations that the BJP leader was present at the secretariat when the attack on Kejriwal took place.

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

However, Sisodia said, "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."

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.

Even 24 hours after the attack, Delhi's Lieutenant Governor has not reacted on it. This means that he also knew about it, Sisodia alleged.

Delhi's ruling AAP has said it will hold a protest at the BJP's national headquarters on Wednesday against the attack on Kejriwal.

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

However, no formal complaint was received from the secretariat, a senior police official had said.

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First Published: Nov 21 2018 | 7:50 PM IST

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