Attack on AAP office: Hindu Raksha Dal leader arrested

AAP leader Kumar Vishwas blamed BJP for the incident, saying, they fear they will meet the same fate in Lok Sabha elections.Around 40 men said to be from a Hindu group attacked the AAP office here Wednesday, apparently to protest a statement on Kashmir made by party leader Prashant Bhushan, witnesses said.A case has been registered in Ghaziabad and one person has been arrested for the attack.

The attackers, carrying flags of ‘Hindu Raksha Dal’, entered the AAP office near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s home, threw stones and broke windows with lathis. They also allegedly targeted workers and misbehaved with women. One of the attackers said they were protesting Mr Bhushan’s remarks suggesting a referendum in Kashmir on whether the people want the army for internal security. The AAP leader withdrew those remarks after much criticism.

Bhushan had recently said a referendum should be carried out in Kashmir to decide on deployment of the army to deal with security threats in the Valley. However, the Aam Aadmi Party had distanced itself from his views.  On Bhushan’s remarks on Kashmir, he said, “We have already said that Bhushan’s view is not that of the party. We are against referendum and we understand problems of Kashmiris who are exiled in their own country. “This is the problem with the working of BJP. If they come to power they will not allow anyone to speak,” Vishwas said, adding, “If they do not agree on any issue, they can stage protest, sit on hunger strike or approach court but cannot resort to violence”.