AAP''s counter: Leaders attacked, Delhi CS made casteist remarks

New Delhi, February 20 

The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday launched a counter-attack on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, allegedly assaulted by AAP MLAs at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, accusing him of working at the "behest of the BJP".

While some AAP MLAs claimed Prakash had made casteist remarks, some party leaders also alleged that they were roughed up inside the Delhi secretariat today.

Rejecting Prakash's charges, the party claimed he had used bad language against some lawmakers and left the chief minister's residence, where he had gone for a meeting last night, without answering any of the questions he was asked.

Prakash Jarwal and Ajay Dutt, AAP MLAs from Deoli and Ambedkar Nagar, respectively, claimed the bureaucrat made casteist remarks. They have lodged a complaint against him with the Delhi Police and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Jarwal said.

AAP said earlier today that the meeting at the CM's residence was to discuss rations.

In a statement, it said about 2.5 lakh families last month were deprived of rations they were entitled to because of faulty implementation of Aadhaar and MLAs were under pressure from the people because of this.

There was a meeting of MLAs at the CM's residence. The Chief Secretary refused to answer questions saying that he was not answerable to MLAs and CM and that he was answerable only to LG. He even used bad language against some MLAs and left without answering any questions, the statement said.

"If the chief secretary can make such wild allegations, one can imagine the kind of obstacles that are being created in the AAP governments work by the BJP through officers," the party said.

AAP leader Ashish Khetan alleged he was manhandled by a group of nearly 150 people in the Delhi Secretariat this afternoon.

Delhi's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain has also lodged a complaint with the police stating that he was assaulted in the secretariat.

The Delhi Secretariat is a high-security zone, where the chief minister and other ministers sit. How can such a big mob gather in the secretariat? When I was being attacked, the Delhi Police acted as a mere spectator," he said.

Khetan, who is the vice-chairman of a body called the Delhi Dialogue Commission, also claimed that his staff had been injured in the attack.

It is obvious that these 200-odd BJP workers got inside the Delhi Secretariat with the help of government officers following orders of the LG or GoI (Centre), AAP MLA Adarsh Shastri tweeted.

Prakash said in a complaint to the police today that he had been abused and threatened at Kejriwal's residence by some MLAs.

"...without any provocation from my side, (they) started hitting and assaulting me and hit several blows with fists on my head and temple," he said in the complaint. — PTI