Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday alleged that the BJP leadership had knowledge of the attack on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the opposition party wants the latter eliminated to stop him from working for the people.

On Tuesday, a man threw chilli powder at Kejriwal outside his office in the Delhi Secretariat. The chief minister’s spectacles broke but he was not injured in the attack.

The attacker, identified as Anil Kumar Sharma, has been arrested. Sharma (40), a resident of Naraina, has been booked on charges of criminal intimidation, obstructing public servant, causing hurt to deter public servant and assault or criminal force on public servant under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

“(Union) Home Minister Rajnath Singh called Kejriwal and asked him to file a complaint in the attack on him. Is this the way an attack on a chief minister should be probed?” Sisodia asked at a press conference.

Sharma’s Facebook profile shows that he is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said.

“After failing to stop Kejriwal from working for the people of Delhi, now the BJP wants him eliminated. The entire series of events indicate that top BJP leadership had knowledge of the attack on Kejriwal,” Sisodia claimed.

The deputy chief minister also lashed out at the Delhi Police, alleging it was acting on the behest of the BJP and trying to save the culprit.

CCTV footage shows Sharma tried to touch Kejriwal’s feet and tried to attack on his face but the CM’s security staff caught hold of him.

The Congress condemned the attack on Tuesday saying it did not support anyone practising such “dirty politics”.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said: “It will not take even 30 seconds for me to condemn such an act. The Congress does not believe in this kind of dirty politics. Whosoever has done it, it is neither definition of our politics, nor thought. I feel everyone should condemn such an act. Such a person who does such an act needs to be condemned, who ever it may be who practices such politics.”

Earlier, the Delhi Police issued a statement recounting the incident but did not confirm whether the man threw chilli powder. The statement mentioned that the man possessed a pouch which apparently contained chilli powder.

(With agency inputs)