Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was attacked by a man with chilli powder outside his chamber in the Delhi Secretariat when he was leaving for lunch.
New Delhi: A man flung chilli powder at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal outside his office in the Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday, an attack the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) described as “politically motivated”.
The man, Anil Kumar, who has been detained, was targeting the bespectacled chief minister’s eyes, officials said.
His spectacles broke but his eyes seemed to have been spared any damage, they added.
Kumar, whose Aadhaar card has been recovered, brought the chilli powder to the secretariat in packets of ‘khaini’, or chewing tobacco, they said.
After throwing red pepper powder on Kejriwal, Kumar threatened to shoot him after he comes out of jail, an official recounted.
The attack took place outside the chief minister’s chamber on the third floor when he was leaving for lunch.
While AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj accused the BJP, leader of the saffron party’s Delhi unit Manoj Tiwari condemned the attack and called for a “high-level” probe.
According to Bhardwaj, the attack happened at the chief minister’s office, which is a “high-security” zone. He said it was a serious matter and termed the attack “politically motivated”.
“The BJP is behind the attack and the accused are being aided by the Modi government,” Bhardwaj alleged.
The Delhi BJP chief said such incidents “cannot be tolerated or justified by anybody”.
“This calls for a high-level probe,” Tiwari said.
Officials close to Kejriwal accused the Delhi Police of being lax in providing him security and alleged that this was the third attempt to harm him in less than a month.
The AAP alleged that water bottles were thrown at Kejriwal by Tiwari at the inauguration ceremony of Signature Bridge earlier this month.
“Around the time of Dussehra, an unidentified man had barged inside Kejriwal’s residence and had tried to attack the CM,” Bhardwaj added.-PTI