AAP office attack: Hindu Raksha Dal leader arrested

Around 40 men said to be from a Hindu group attacked the AAP office here Wednesday, apparently to protest a statement on Kashmir made by party leader Prashant Bhushan, witnesses said.

Activists of a right-wing group today attacked and vandalised the Aam Aadmi Party headquarters in Kaushambi here with bricks and stones to protest against party leader Prashant Bhushan's remarks on referendum in Kashmir.

Around 40 activists of Hindu Raksha Dal broke flower pots kept outside the AAP's office and tore party posters. Some glass doors were also smashed in the attack. "We today staged a protest against AAP's stand on Kashmir. AAP leader Prashant Bhushan's remark on Kashmir are very sad for Hindus due to which we staged a protest outside the party office," said Pinky Choudhary, national convenor, Hindu Raksha Dal. Police said no one was injured in the attack.

Updates:
* Hours after the attack on Aam Aadmi Party's Kaushambi office here, Ghaziabad Police today arrested the national convenor of Hindu Raksha Dal from Sahibabad area in connection with the incident. Read more here

* Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday condemned the attack on the AAP office and wanted to know if the intention of the attackers is to kill his colleague Prashant Bhushan. Read here

* Reacting to the charge, BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "I don not have complete information about the incident. However, this sort of incident cannot be justified. Instead of blaming each other, due course of legal action should be followed. They see BJP even in their dreams. They are working to stop the good governance of BJP. Whenever their fault is pointed out, they see BJP's hand behind it."

* AAP leader Prashant Bhushan on Wednesday condemned the attack on the party office in Kaushambi, and said that the rise of AAP has sent panic waves across the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. Read more

* BJP today condemned the attack on Aam Aadmi Party office near here allegedly carried out by some right-wing activists, saying no one has any right to resort to violence. Read more here

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SSP Dharmendra Singh said, "We have identified some people. They were some residents of Ghaziabad and the numbers of their cars have been noted. Action against them will be initiated soon."

AAP spokesperson Dilip Pandey said, "Some youths, who are said to belong to Hindu Raksha Dal, gathered outside the party office and raised slogans against AAP. They also broke flower pots placed outside the party office".

The SSP said there was no security at the party office but policemen have now been deployed there and at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence which is just a kilometre away. He said they will again take up the issue of security with Kejriwal and try to convince him about that.Earlier, Kejriwal had turned down the security offered to him by Ghaziabad and Delhi Police.

Bhushan had recently said a referendum should be carried out in Kashmir to decide on deployment of the army to deal with security threats in the Valley. However, the Aam Aadmi Party had distanced itself from his views. 

AAP leader Kumar Vishwas blamed BJP for the incident, saying it is frustrated over Delhi Assembly election results. "Now they fear they will meet the same fate in Lok Sabha elections," he said. "It is being claimed that workers of an organisation called Sri Ram Sena are behind the attack. Basically all these fanatic right wing outfits are part of BJP. BJP has become frustrated. After what has happened with it in the Delhi Assembly elections, they fear the same might happen in the Lok Sabha elections," Vishwas said.

On Bhushan's remarks on Kashmir, he said, "We have already said that Bhushan's view is not that of the party. We are against referendum and we understand problems of Kashmiris who are exiled in their own country. "This is the problem with the working of BJP. If they come to power they will not allow anyone to speak," Vishwas said, adding, "If they do not agree on any issue, they can stage protest, sit on hunger strike or approach court but cannot resort to violence".

Also read: Will Prashant Bhushan-Arvind Kejriwal ideology rift widen?