AAP leader Somnath Bharti was attacked in Varanasi on Wednesday
A day after an attack on his party man
Somnath Bharti in Varanasi, Aam Aadmi Party chief
Arvind Kejriwal targeted the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Mr Bharti was attacked after he left the venue of a TV show that featured him. The windows of his car were smashed and the driver was allegedly assaulted.
"Benaras has never seen this kind of violence. What kind of culture is BJP bringing here? This is terrifying. Does this show that if Modi comes to Varanasi, this will be the city's culture? Is this the Gujarat model of development? People say that whoever opposes Modi in Gujarat is either terrorized or bought over or finished?" Mr Kejriwal said today. (
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The AAP chief said his party would complain to the Election Commission today.
Mr Kejriwal is running for Parliament from Varanasi against Mr Modi, who will file his nomination papers later today. The holy city will go to polls on May 12, the last day of voting for the national election.
On Wednesday, Mr Bharti also hit out at Mr Modi, saying, "Has Modiji begun 'khooni khel' (bloody game) even before filing his nomination? Someone who is the messiah of 'khooni khel', 'khooni rajneeti' (bloody politics)... so has this happened just a day before the filing of nomination?"
The BJP has not responded to the AAP's allegations so far.
Mr Bharti, 39, was the Law Minister when Mr Kejriwal served as the Chief Minister of Delhi for just 49 days earlier this year. He triggered a huge controversy and accusations of serious human rights violations after he led a mob in a south Delhi neighbourhood which allegedly harassed and illegally detained a group of African women on suspicion they were part of a prostitution and drugs racket. (
read: 'Somnath Bharti led the people who attacked me,' says Ugandan woman)