BJP worker Nachiketa Walnekar claimed he was protesting against the Aam Aadmi Party leader because he had betrayed Anna Hazare
After shoes comes flying paint. Following many incidents where protesters have flung a shoe at world leaders, Monday saw aman throwing black paint.
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Claiming to be an activist of the BJP, the man threw the paint at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) founder Arvind Kejriwal yesterday while he was addressing a press conference.
Clean-up act: A volunteer helps AAP’s Prashant Bhushan wipe the blotches off his hands, whileu00a0another cleans Arvind Kejriwal’s face. Pic/AFP
The man, who identified himself as Nachiketa Walnekar, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activist, created a ruckus at the packed press conference but was then bundled away by AAP activists.
Kejriwal, who was sitting on the dais with other party leaders, got some drops of the paint on his face. But AAP national executive member Manish Sisodia’s cap was smeared. Sisodia iscontesting from Patparganj assembly seat. AAP member and senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan also had ink smudges on his hands.
Walnekar said he was a supporter of social activist Anna Hazare and was angry with the way Kejriwal disbanded the India Against Corruption movement, which was at the forefront of many campaigns. “Anna Hazare never wanted the movement to end and Arvind Kejriwal has misused the name of Anna Hazare,” he said.
Reacting to the incident, AAP member Kumar Vishwash said, “It is an attempt to bring our morale down.” BJP leader VK Malhotra said Kejriwal and his party members were falsely accusing the BJP of such incidents. “They are the Congress’s B-team. We don’t approve of anybody throwing ink,” he said.
Congress leader Haroon Yusuf accused the AAP of seeking ‘publicity from such incidents’.
Shoe-stoppers
>> On January 23, 2012, a shoe was thrown at Rahul Gandhi, who was then Congress general secretary, during an election rally in Dehradun. Brushing aside the incident, he is reported to have said, “If some people think that throwing a shoe will deter me and force me to run away, then they are mistaken. Rahul Gandhi will not run away.”
>>u00a0On October 18, 2011, activist and politician Arvind Kejriwal was targeted with a shoe in Lucknow by a man called Jitendra Pathak.
>>u00a0On August 15, 2010, a police officer threw a shoe at J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
>>u00a0On April 26, 2009, a man hurled a shoe at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Ahmedabad
>>u00a0On April 7, 2009, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram was the victim of a shoe incident when journalist Jarnail Singh flung one at himu00a0
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