Kejriwal prays at Rajghat after getting slapped
NEW DELHI : Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal sat in silent prayer at Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi Rajghat after he was slapped by an auto driver during a roadshow in Delhi.The attacker was reportedly upset with Kejriwal for going back on promises and abandoning the Delhi government after 49 days in power. Kejriwal was campaigning for party heavyweight Rakhi Birla in Sulatnpuri in Northwest Delhi, when the attacker climbed up his jeep under the guise of wanting to garland him. He did garland Kejriwal but then, suddenly, slapped him with full force.
Unconfirmed reports identified the attacker as an autorickshaw driver named Lalli, resident of Aman Vihar in Delhi. Ironically, autorickshaw drivers are said to be a key support base of the AAP and had campaigned extensively for the party in the Delhi polls. The attacker was cornered by AAP supporters and thrashed before handing over to the police. While the party appears disinclined to press charges against him – reports claimed he is an AAP worker – the police may go ahead and book him under the IPC.
Following the attack, Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders and workers went to Rajghat and sat on a silent prayer. Today is the last day of campaigning in Delhi ahead of voting on Thursday. Kejriwal took to twitter to register his anguish on the repeated attacks on him.He wrote, “I am just thinking – why am i being repeatedly attacked? Who r the masterminds? What do they want? What do they achieve?”
