Shoe hurled at Pappu Yadav, man armed with knife detained; MP claims attempt on his life
While Pappu Yadav was addressing the presser, a man threw a slipper at him and a scuffle ensued between the Purnia MP's supporters and the attacker
Independent MP from Bihar’s Purnea, Pappu Yadav, was targeted while addressing a press conference at his official residence in New Delhi on Sunday. A knife was also recovered from one of the assailants.
A person allegedly threw a shoe at him, leading to a scuffle between his supporters and the attackers. The confrontation comes days after the Opposition’s Ram Mandir skit that was performed on the Parliament premises.
The accused have been identified as Sumit, a resident of Shahpani village in Sikandrabad tehsil of Bulandshahr district in Uttar Pradesh, and Happy. Both were detained after Sumit allegedly attacked Yadav.
The incident triggered chaos at the venue, with pushing and shoving breaking out between Yadav’s supporters and the protesters after the shoe was thrown. Police have started an investigation into the matter and are verifying the sequence of events at the press conference, including whether the accused arrived at the venue carrying a knife.
A knife was also recovered from Yadav’s supporters.
Speaking to the media, Yadav claimed that the accused had come to kill him. “He came to kill me with a knife. There was a conspiracy to kill me. I did not insult Sanatan. I was attacked at my residence. Given the size of the knife recovered during the attack, I would not have survived,” Yadav said.
Yadav’s media coordinator Zaid Khan said, “When the knife was drawn to attack, our supporters and associates tried to restrain the assailant. I came between the attacker and Pappu Yadav, and I was severely beaten. The Delhi Police stood by and allowed the beating to happen. The police did not help Yadav.”
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera said, “The Delhi Police seems remarkably efficient when it comes to repressing students peacefully demanding their constitutional rights. But when it comes to protecting a vocal Opposition leader — even a sitting Member of Parliament — at his own residence, it suddenly falls short. Ever since Anurag Kumar took charge as Delhi’s Police Commissioner, the force’s record has gone from bad to worse.”
Last week, Opposition members staged a satirical skit on the Parliament premises to criticise the government over the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
In the skit, Yadav was dressed as a priest and sat beside a donation box. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was seen dropping money into the box. Yadav then bowed at the feet of Samajwadi Party MP from Ayodhya, Awadhesh Prasad, and ran away with the donation box, symbolising the alleged theft of donations.
Seers in Haridwar strongly objected to Yadav’s protest over the alleged donation theft at the temple, describing the act as disrespectful to Hindu religious traditions. Religious leaders of Juna Akhara announced nationwide protests against the MP.
