Arvind Kejriwal dealt with angry protests from Congress and Akali Dal workers in Delhi and Ludhiana
Highlights
- Chief Minister pushed by women protestors at Delhi station
- They raised issue of his party leader caught in sex scandal
- At Ludhiana station, opposition parties shout "Kejriwal, go back"
At the Delhi train station, where he boarded a Shatabdi, and then again at Ludhiana where he pulled in, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, found himself wading through angry protestors.
In Delhi, Mr Kejriwal was pushed by women who heckled him over a sex scandal in his Aam Aadmi Party or AAP. His party alleged that the Delhi police had leaked the Chief Minister’s itinerary to allow opposition workers to embarrass him publicly.
Women protesting against Arvind Kejriwal by showing bangles at New Delhi Railway Station
“He is pushed around in the presence of the police, and they were silent spectators. TV cameras had been called. It is obvious that this was planned," tweeted Mr Kejriwal's deputy, Manish Sisodia.
Roughly 5 hours later, at the Ludhiana train station, glass bangles were waved in his face by women workers of the Congress, demanding an explanation for a sex video of an AAP leader, who was removed as a minister by Mr Kejriwal, and was later accused of rape by the woman with whom he was filmed.
The women, shouting slogans at Mr Kejriwal, competed with youth workers of the ruling Akali Dal, who cried “Go back.”
Mr Kejriwal is to spend three days in Punjab where his party has been short-circuiting with a series of scandals about top leaders being bribed by those who want to run for election in the state.
In the 2014 general election, AAP won a surprise four seats in Punjab. In recent months, the party's brand surged on account of Mr Kejriwal's frequent visits to the state, where he hopes to displace the ruling BJP-Akali Dal coalition.
He said he will not be "cowed down" by such "pre-planned" protests by his political rivals and pledged to stay in Punjab till he “sends the Badals (who head the Akali Dal) to jail”.
Mr Kejriwal’s stated relocation comes at a time when Delhi, which elected him with a record mandate, sees him sparingly. The 48-year-old has been touring states like Gujarat, Goa and Punjab as the star campaigner for his fledgling party.