Opposition leaders condemn attack on Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi, May 05: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Moti Nagar in the New Delhi constituency, prompting a strong reaction from the AAP which alleged the BJP was behind the "cowardly act". Several opposition party leaders also tweeted to condemn the "attack".

Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu denounced it as a dastardly act.

Taking to twitter Naidu wrote: "After trying to defeat him, demoralize him, degrade him, destabilize him, dethrone him, and destroy his party, the forces that have destroyed institutions, derailed federal principles are now attempting to physically attack Arvind Kejriwal," he said.

This is an indication of their desperation & defeat. I strongly denounce such dastardly act and Delhi Police must take responsibility for this heinous act of slapping a democratically elected CM. Such attacks will only strengthen our resolve to fight for strengthening democracy.

— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) May 4, 2019

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, in a Twitter post wrote, "Shocking. Unacceptable to use physical violence to make a political point".

Shocking. Unacceptable to use physical violence to make a political point. https://t.co/9oFmcpcq3j

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 4, 2019

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O'Brien also came out with a scathing remark directed at the BJP in which he said that the act only goes to prove the saffron party's defeat in Delhi.

"They are desperately creating incidents to try and find 'game-changer'....Modi is OUT," he said while referring to a separate controversy around a "doctored" video of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.

Former BJP leader and a vocal critic of the Modi government, Yashwant Sinha, also condemned the "cowardly attack" on the Delhi CM.

Condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly attack on CM Delhi.

— Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) May 4, 2019

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia slammed the BJP after the incident.

"Do Modi and Amit Shah want Kejriwal to be murdered?" Sisodia tweeted, attacking the prime minister and the BJP chief.

He said the BJP could not break the morale of Kejriwal and could not defeat him in elections in five years despite putting in all its might. "Now you want him removed form your way like this. You cowards! This Kejriwal is your end," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

This is the second time Kejriwal has been slapped in a public rally.