Vinay Kumar
NEW DELHI: A press conference by Independent MP Pappu Yadav was disrupted in Delhi on Sunday after a confrontation broke out between his supporters and a group of men. Yadav’s media convenor alleged the MP was targeted with a knife in what he described as an attempt to replicate the Atiq Ahmed incident.The incident occurred while Yadav was seated and speaking to the media. According to his media convenor, three or four men suddenly approached the MP and an altercation broke out. He alleged that one of the men first removed a slipper and hurled it before another attacker pulled out a knife.“The attackers first took off a slipper and hurled it. When the knife was drawn to attack, our supporters and associates tried to restrain the assailant. I stepped forward and positioned myself between the attacker and Pappu Yadav, and I was beaten severely as a result,” the convenor said.He alleged he was beaten so badly by two or three individuals that he lost consciousness. “My associates carried me away from the spot. I have no further information,” he said.A supporter of Yadav who was present said he instinctively put his hand in front of the MP as the knife was swung, causing the blade to graze his finger. The situation descended into a melee, with people falling and piling on top of one another.The convenor also alleged that Delhi Police personnel present did not intervene to protect Yadav and instead focused on taking the alleged attackers away. “I tried to help Pappu Yadav escape the scene. The police seemed to be shielding the goons… Not a single policeman stepped forward to help Pappu Yadav escape. When the assault was taking place, they focused solely on saving the goons and whisked them away from the scene. We don’t know where they took them,” he alleged.“These people had come to stage a ‘Prayagraj Part Two’ — they came to replicate the Atiq Ahmed incident today,” the convenor said, referring to the 2023 killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother in Prayagraj while they were in police custody.The convenor said he had met the DCP earlier in the day and submitted a formal complaint warning that the MP was arriving and had been receiving constant threats on social media. “Despite knowing all this, they deployed only three or four police personnel here, and even they were merely protecting the goons,” he alleged.He further alleged that several people had been positioned behind the media cameras before the incident. “There were people hiding behind the cameras, three or four of them. Suddenly, someone pulled out a knife, another a slipper… The MP was the target, no one else,” he said.According to people present at the scene, the confrontation began after some men allegedly accused Yadav of insulting Sanatan Dharma. The men argued with him before one of them removed a slipper and attempted to throw it. Yadav’s supporters then intervened, leading to a scuffle.Yadav and his supporters have alleged the men were carrying knives and had intentions to kill him. The Delhi Police have not yet issued an official statement on the incident.Yadav himself alleged in a later statementthat the confrontation was an attempt on his life and linked it to threats against his family.“I came here because last night, they went to my children’s home. Now, you are trying to intimidate my children too; that won’t happen,” Yadav said. “I was with the press, and a conversation was underway. Amid that, there was an attempt to kill me.”He alleged that some of those involved were calling for him to be killed, adding, “Some ‘Baba’ was saying, ‘Burn him alive,’ while others were saying, ‘Kill him.’ If people hadn’t been here, I would have been finished.”Yadav also connected the confrontation to the ongoing controversy over alleged discrepancies involving offerings at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.“I haven’t said anything. I only asked Champat Rai or Giri Ji, where did the 200 kg of silver go? Where did the gold go?” he said.
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On security concerns, Yadav said he had repeatedly sought protection. “The Delhi Police is quite capable. I have been demanding security for a long time now. What crime have I committed?” he said.The confrontation comes days after Yadav was involved in a political controversy over a protest by opposition MPs concerning alleged theft of offerings made at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Yadav, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad and other opposition parliamentarians staged a demonstration in Parliament premises in which they enacted a skit depicting the alleged theft of temple offerings.Yadav wore saffron during the protest and portrayed a temple priest who allegedly took offerings from a donation box. The demonstration drew criticism from seers and others, who accused the MPs of insulting Sanatan Dharma.
