New Delhi: A man who claimed to be a member of the Aam Aadmi Sena today hurled a shoe at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at a press conference he was about to begin addressing on the second phase of the odd-even scheme in the national capital.
The man, who has been identified as Ved Prakash, has been booked under sections 186, 353 and 355 of the IPC. His arrest comes after he was detained and taken to the IP Estate police station for interrogation.
Ved Prakash, confirmed by the police as the national secretary of the Aam Aadmi Sena, stood up and threw a shoe directly at Kejriwal at the press meet at the Delhi Secretariat. As soon as Kejriwal began speaking, the man first stood up and threw a CD, allegedly with a sting operation regarding allegations of corruption against the Delhi government over the issuance of CNG stickers.
Read Also: Arvind Kejriwal, five AAP leaders get bail in Jaitley defamation case
“I have a CD with a sting against you. What do you have to say about the cases against you in this CD?” the man asked Kejriwal. When Kejriwal did not respond to him, he took off his shoe and hurled it directly at the chief minister. The shoe, however, did not hit him.
The man was soon surrounded by Kejriwal’s supporters and was beaten up before being guided out. Kejriwal, however, put up a brave face and continued with his briefing on the return of the odd-even scheme in Delhi.
Investigations have revealed that Sharma, son of property dealer Suresh Sharma, also works in the real estate sector in Delhi's Karam Pura. He is a resident of Begum Pur in outer Delhi.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has said that it will not hold press conferences at the Delhi secretariat any more as an aftermath of the incident.
This is not the first time that Kejriwal has been attacked in a similar fashion. At a celebratory function in February after the culmination of the first phase of the odd-even scheme at Delhi’s Chatrasal stadium, a woman who also claimed to be part of the Aam Aadmi Sena threw ink and flung CDs in full public view.
The CD purportedly contained evidence against the Kejriwal government over their alleged involvement in the CNG fitness scam. The matter relates to allegations of bribery against the Delhi government in issuing fitness certificates to vehicles.
Ever since Kejriwal broke away from the Anna Hazare-led movement against corruption in 2012 to start a political party, he has been slapped, mocked, had eggs thrown at him. This was probably the first instance of a shoe being hurled at him.
Political parties have unequivocally condemned the incident.
"It is condemnable, somewhere a line needs to be drawn to stop such acts," said BJP leader Nalin Kohli.
Congress too came out condemning the incident, but blamed Kejriwal over his authoritarian style. "Condemn the shoe throwing, but its due to the authoritarian style of functioning of Mr.Kejriwal," said PC Chacko of the Congress party.
