As Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal delivered his odd-even thanksgiving speech at the Chhatrastal Stadium in Delhi on Sunday, his sabha was once again ‘coloured’ in ‘conspiracy’. 27-year-old Bhawna Arora first hurled a CD, then ink and then some documents at Kejriwal, accusing him of turning a blind eye to corruption in issuing CNG stickers during the odd-even trail. An angry Aam Admi Party has accused the Delhi Police and BJP, of ‘orchestrating’ the attack.
Also Read: Kejriwal Ink Attack: What is the Aam Aadmi Sena All About?
Do We Love to Hate Kejriwal?
While AAP, BJP and the Delhi Police play the blame game, ink, eggs, slippers, shattered windscreens and assault are all too ‘aam’ for Arvind Kejriwal.
18 October 2011: The Chappal Attack
The first attack was in 2011 when a youth threw a slipper at Kejriwal, accusing him of misleading the nation on the issue of corruption. Kejriwal was a team Anna member at the time and was attacked by the youth at an India Against Corruption public meeting in Lucknow.
18 November 2013: A Brush With Black Paint
Nachiketa Walnekar, a BJP activist threw black paint at Arvind Kejriwal during a press conference in Delhi. Walnekar shouted pro-Anna Hazare slogans and accused Kejriwal of ‘disbanding’ the India Against Corruption movement. The BJP later claimed that Walnekar did not belong to their party and the Congress dismissed the incident as a ‘publicity stunt’.
5 March 2014: Windscreen Shattered During Gujarat Stint
While the Aam Aadmi Party leader toured Gujarat to ‘audit’ Narendra Modi’s claims of governance, his convoy was attacked in Kutch in Gujarat. AAP claims that BJP workers carried black flags and attacked Kejriwal’s convoy with sticks the flags were tied to. While Kejriwal’s car windscreen was shattered, he was unhurt. The Kutch cops claim they couldn’t stop the attack as the convoy changed routes last minute.
25 March 2014: Holy City Turns Hostile
Kejriwal’s Lok Sabha campaign against Narendra Modi in the holy city of Varanasi saw action aplenty. As Kejriwal left from the Kashi Vishwanath temple to announce his candidature against Modi, hundreds of people surrounded his car, blocked the AAP cavalcade and threw eggs. Minutes later, during the Aam Aadmi Party roadshow, ink was also thrown at him. Kejriwal and the AAP top brass carried on with the rally and road show without wiping off the ink.
28 March 2014: The Haryana Assault
On the first day of the three-day Aam Aadmi Party roadshow in Haryana, a youth hit Kejriwal on his neck. Kejriwal later tweeted that this was a sign of desperation.
4 April 2014: Delhi Campaign Punch
As the Aam Aadmi Party campaign picked up momentum Delhi, Kejriwal was punched by an unidentified man while campaigning in the Dakshinpuri area of Delhi. Kejriwal urged AAP supporters not to attack his attacker, so AAP members made a human chain around the attackers and escorted him to safety.
8 April 2014: The Auto Driver Slapgate
Just four days after the punching episode, Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by an auto driver under the pretext of garlanding him at an election rally in Sultanpuri in Delhi. Kejriwal, who was left with a visibly swollen eye cancelled the rally following the attack and headed to Rajghat where he sat silently for over an hour. The next day Kejriwal visited the auto driver’s home and said he ‘forgave’ him.
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