A day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers clashed with the police and vandalised Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence during a protest, the AAP chief on Thursday, 31 March, condemned the violence and said he was "ready to lay down his life for the country".
"Arvind Kejriwal is not important but the nation is. I can lay down my life for the country," Kejriwal said at a launch event for electric autos in the capital.
He also said that "if India's biggest party indulges in hooliganism, it will send out the wrong message", adding that the country will move forward only if everybody works together.
Violence Outside Kejriwal's Residence
The Delhi CM's comments come after violence and vandalism unfolded outside his official residence on Wednesday.
BJP workers, led by Yuva Morcha president and Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya, clashed with the police during a protest against Kejriwal's remarks on the recently released controversial film The Kashmir Files.
Visuals from the ground captured Surya along with dozens of people wielding BJP flags and placards, censuring Kejriwal's "insult" to Kashmiri Pandits. The protesters also defaced Kejriwal's residence with red paint amidst the chaos.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Surya said that the protest was held against the way Kejriwal "mocked and made fun of the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits".
The AAP has dubbed the clashes as an attempt to "murder" Kejriwal, with Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia slamming the BJP for acting like a "sore loser" after the party's loss in the recently concluded Punjab Assembly elections.
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