On 30 March 2022, the official residence of Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, was attacked by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia called the incident a conspiracy to murder Kejriwal. Tejasvi Surya, the national president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM; the youth wing of the BJP) and a member of the Lok Sabha, had led a protest against Arvind Kejriwal with around 200 BJYM members. Several protesters were seen in CCTV footage breaking barriers in front of Kejriwal's residence and daubing red paint on the main gate. According to Delhi Police officials, the attackers also damaged a CCTV camera. Kejriwal's party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), stated that he was not in the house at the time of the attack, but members of his family were present.
Saurabh Bhardwaj, an AAP member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking the formation of a special investigation team to carry out a "fair and time-bound investigation" into the incident. The petition asserted that the attack and vandalization appeared to have been carried out with the "tacit complicity" of Delhi police, and asked the court to issue directions to the Delhi Police and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for ensuring the security of the chief minister and his residence. The court noted that the security was inadequate to control the crowd, and sought a status report of the police investigation into the incident within two weeks' time.
Delhi Police arrested eight members of BJYM in connection with the incident. A local court remanded all the arrested men into judicial custody. According to the police, all the 20 accused identified were BJYM members.
Incident
An office bearer of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had applied for a permission from the police to hold a protest. The application was rejected by the Arrangements cell of North district police. Despite not having the permission, the group proceeded with their plans.
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM, the youth wing of BJP) national president and Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Tejaswi Surya had led a protest against Arvind Kejriwal. Around 200 members of BJYM had gathered outside the Chief Minister's house. Some of them including Surya, reached the main gate of the residence. Several of these protesters were seen in the CCTV video, breaking the barriers and vandalising the main gate of the residence of Delhi Chief Minister. According to Delhi Police officials, the attackers also damaged a CCTV camera. According to Aam Aadmi Party leaders, Kejriwal was not in the house at the time of the attack but his family members were present.
Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya was seen in the video from the incident, protesting outside the CM's residence along with BJYM members. Speaking about Surya’s involvement, a senior police officer had said, "We have footage where he is seen with protesters who later indulge in vandalism."
Statements
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said:What happened this morning was a well-planned conspiracy to kill Arvind Kejriwal. The BJP is frustrated over its Punjab debacle. It cannot take on Arvind Kejriwal electorally and is now attempting to murder him. Today morning BJP goons reached Delhi CM’s doorstep, destroyed CCTV cameras, broke security and boom barriers outside Kejriwal ji’s residence all in the presence of police. BJP goons kept vandalising CM Arvind Kejriwal’s house... Instead of stopping them, the BJP police brought them to the door of the house.
Kejriwal discussing the incident said, "Kejriwal is not important... I am a simple aam aadmi. I am ready to sacrifice my life for the greater good of the country if it helps. But I strongly believe that such hooliganism will not aid in the growth of our motherland." "India has wasted 75 years in cheap politics of hatred and violence". "What does it say about our country and our politics if the biggest party of India, the one which rules our union, acts like this? What will the youth think about their leaders? They will think this is the right way and they should adopt it too. This would only hinder the path of our development"
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann condemned the attack and claimed the BJP was showing signs of desperation after the formation of an AAP government in Punjab.