Chilli powder attack: Arvind Kejriwal says ‘powerful’ people want him dead

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has alleged that the attack on him at the state secretariat was an attempt on his life by powerful people as they have been conspiring to kill me.

Referring to earlier attacks, he said that the attacks are not taking place, it is being ordered because we have become an obstacle and they want me to die. Kejriwal’s deputy, Manish Sisodia had earlier accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of conspiring the attack.

It is to be noted that, Arvind Kejriwal was attacked by 40-year-old Anil Kumar Sharma while he was leaving his third-floor chamber in the Delhi Secretariat complex on Tuesday afternoon. The attacker initially pretended to have fallen at Kejriwal’s feet, then lunged unexpectedly and thrown chilli powder over his face.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that Kejriwal escaped unharmed only because he was wearing glasses.

In his statement, Kejriwal claimed that he is being attacked by the powerful people because they aren’t able to do what the AAP government has managed in Delhi over a period of three years. “People have started asking them that if we can waive electricity, then why can’t they? People are questioning them on various things,” he stated.

Making an emotional appeal, ahead of the Madhya Pradesh polls where his party is contesting for the first time ever, he said that these attacks would not affect him, because he has “dedicated his life” to the country.

“I want to tell the youth that AAP is not a party, it is the fight for Independence 2.0. These parties have destroyed the nation, and we have to fix it again,” he said.

Another AAP leader Dilip Pandey, while addressing to the protesters said that the attacks will only get worse as the 2019 elections near. “But the people of Delhi have to unite and tell them that such hooliganism is not going to work. We are not scared of anybody,” he quoted by NDTV as saying.

General secretary of the AAP Traders’ Wing, Rohtas Bansal attributed the chilli powder assault on Delhi Chief Minister to the “nervousness” of the BJP. “They are scared of defeat — even the violence at Signature Bridge was an example of this. But the Delhi Police does not take any action against them,” he said.

Also read: Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal attacked with chilli powder inside Secretariat