I was attacked for questioning Modi-Pakistan relationship: Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: A day after he was assaulted during a roadshow in west Delhi, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed on Sunday that he was attacked because he repeatedly questioned the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan.
Kejriwal said never in the past 70 years since Independence that the premier of the neighbouring country openly said that a particular candidate in India should win and become the prime minister again.

“Only two months ago, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan had engineered an attack on the Indian forces in Pulwama (in Jammu and Kashmir), which killed 40 security personnel. Our air force avenged the attack by destroying terrorist camps inside Pakistan. Yet the Pakistan PM is saying that Modi should be elected the Prime Minister again. What is cooking between Modi and Pakistan,” Kejriwal said at a press conference.

AAP's national convenor said that the attack on him – ninth in the past five years and fifth since he became the chief minister of Delhi – was the part of a bigger conspiracy and a narrative is trying to be built that he was attacked because some people were unhappy with the ruling party.
“One day, I will be killed and the BJP and the Delhi Police will say that the attack happened because some people were unhappy with AAP. I have never seen a chief minister of any state being attacked the way so many attempts have been made on me... But I am not the one who will get frightened,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal said he was the only chief minister of the country who’s security was in the hands of the rival party (Delhi Police directly report to the Centre) and said the responsibility of the attack squarely lies on the BJP. “It was for the central government to ensure my security,” he said.
Following the attack, the Delhi Police said in a statement that the accused was an AAP supporter and used to organise rallies and meetings of the party.

“As per his version, the accused, identified as Suresh, got disenchanted from the party due to the behaviour of its leaders and distrust of the party towards the armed forces,” said Delhi Police in a statement.
Refuting the claims made by the Delhi Police, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the man was a “Modi Bhakt”.
“The wife of the attacker has herself said that he was a Modi Bhakt and did not like anyone talking against Modi,” Bharadwaj said.