AAP leader Dilip Pandey alleges BJP workers manhandled him

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Dilip Pandey on Friday accused unidentified workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of manhandling him and few others in the presence of senior BJP leader Vijay Goel at an event in northwest Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar. The event was organised by United Residents of Delhi, an umbrella body of resident welfare associations(RWAs).

Goel, in a press statement, dismissed the allegation and accused the AAP workers of disrupting the event and engaging in hooliganism.

A police complaint was also lodged by the office bearer of the resident welfare body, alleging that Pandey and his associates had disrupted the event while Goel was addressing a gathering. However, no FIR was registered till Friday evening, police said.

The event was organised to discuss problems associated with automated water meters and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s recent announcement on waiving off water bill arrears, said Saurabh Gandhi, general secretary of United Residents of Delhi, said.

“We had valid questions and we went to the event to ask those questions. But we were manhandled by BJP workers in the presence of Vijay Goel and were pushed out of the event,” Pandey alleged. “It shows that the BJP does not have answers to our questions. We have made electricity and water free for the people. Why could the BJP never do that? They have nothing to offer to the people of Delhi.”

Responding to the allegations, Goel said, “With just four months left for elections, Kejriwal is trying to dupe the voters. Now he is so afraid of losing that his party workers have started disrupting RWA meetings.”

“A healthy public discussion was going on and the men who disrupted the event had no intention of engaging in it,” Gandhi, who is the complainant.