Autowallah slaps Kejriwal

New Delhi: AAP supremo and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by an auto-rickshaw driver on Tuesday, while campaigning in Sultanpuri in North-West Delhi LS constituency in the capital. A man reached out to Kejrial and first garlanded him and then struck him hard on his left cheek. Immediately the attacker was thrown on to the floor and beaten up by AAP supporters. The attacker was admitted to hospital. He has has been identified as Lali. He reportedly accused Kejriwal of “betraying auto-drivers.” Thousands of auto-drivers actively campaigned for the AAP in Delhi Assembly elections. Kejriwal tweeted, “I am just thinking – why am I being repeatedly attacked? Who r the masterminds? What do they want? Let them beat me as much as they want but will that solve the country’s problems.”

In an appeal to AAP supporters, Kejriwal said, “If we ever become violent, the movement wud be finished. So, pl pl pl, in future, if anyone hits us including me, we shud be nice to him.” Kejriwal, who later prayed at Rajghat with a swollen left eye, said, “I forgive those, who attack me. I appeal to volunteers not to retaliate, otherwise there is no difference between us and them.” Kejriwal continued to insist that he still does not want security. Both the BJP and the Congress have condemned the repeated attacks, calling them “unacceptable.” Kejriwal, who quit as Delhi Chief Minister in February after 49 days in power, has blamed these attacks on rival parties.