Cracker thrown at BJP leaders in northeast Delhi

New Delhi : The Delhi BJP has filed a police complaint over a cracker allegedly thrown at its leaders, including its chief Manoj Tiwari, during the party's "Gandhi Sankalp Yatra" at Karawal Nagar here.

Tiwari termed the incident a "cowardly" act to disturb the BJP event. The "Gandhi Sankalp Yatra" was taken out from 10, Futa Road, Karawal Nagar West to Shani Bazar, Turkmirpur on Friday.

At around 8 pm, when Tiwari and other leaders were addressing a gathering, someone allegedly threw a cracker on them. "The cracker landed on me and our former MLA Mohan Singh Bisht. I had a narrow escape, while Bisht's arm was injured and his Kurta burnt," Tiwari said. A complaint was filed late on Friday night by Delhi BJP's media co-head Anand Trivedi at the Khajoori Khas police station.

"We have registered a case under section 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) of the Indian Penal Code and are analysing the CCTV footage," a senior police officer said. "The cracker burst with a loud bang, triggering panic among people. Our leaders had a narrow escape, although Mohan Singh Bisht was hurt," Trivedi said.

Earlier, launching the "yatra", Tiwari said it was the dream of Mahatma Gandhi to get independence for India and establish a "Ram Rajya", which was being realised under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He also accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi of "misusing the resources of the state" and trying to find ways to retain power. The Assembly polls in Delhi are due early next year.

The "Gandhi Sankalp Yatra" was flagged off by BJP president Amit Shah in Delhi on Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary on October 2. Under the three-month programme, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs, MLAs, other elected representatives and office-bearers across the country will take out marches in their respective areas, spreading the message of Gandhi and urging people to shun single-use plastic.