Signature Bridge opens to roadside violence, Delhi BJP chief stopped from going on stage

Manoj Tiwari said he had identified policemen who had manhandled him and would take action against them, and alleged that AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan shoved him.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari grapples with police personnel (Express photo)

Inauguration of the long-delayed Signature Bridge on Sunday was marred by scuffles, after police stopped Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari from getting on the stage. Tiwari said he had identified policemen who had manhandled him and would take action against them, and alleged that AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan shoved him.

Trouble started after Tiwari, the Northeast Delhi MP, along with several party workers, allegedly tried to force his way through police barricades and get on the stage, claiming he was not invited to the event.

Read | Bridge does not belong to any party, but to people, former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit

Story continues below this ad

In a video released by ANI, he is seen grappling with additional DCP (northeast) R P Meena. Minutes after the incident, he told ANI: “Police ke kuch logon ne jo Arvind Kejriwal ke saath milkar mujhe dhakka mukki kiya hai, un logon ki bhi shinakht ho gayi hai. Koi Meena hai jo yahan ke additional DCP-I hain. Mai ek ek logon ko pehchaan chuka hoon, inki saari mai kundali nikaal chuka hun, aur chaar din ke andar inhe bataunga ki police kya hoti hai. (Some police personnel who support Arvind Kejriwal pushed me around, they have been identified. There is also some person named Meena, who is additional DCP-I. I have identified all of them. I have their history and in four days, I will show them what police is.)”

Tiwari later released another video purportedly showing Khan shoving him.

देखिये @ArvindKejriwal की राजनीति
रात को @msisodia जी ने ट्वीट कर कहा वेलकम है
पर जब आज मैं 1200 लोगोँ के साथ यह ख़ुशी बांटने पहुंचा
तो @DelhiPolice ने बैरिकेड क्यों डाला?
खुद आप के उत्तेजित कार्यकर्ताओं ने भगदड़ मचायी
बेल पे रिहा mla ने मुझे गोली मारने की धमकी और धक्का दिया pic.twitter.com/0RGR0Bd32w

— Manoj Tiwari (@ManojTiwariMP) November 4, 2018

Calling the incident “unprecedented”, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted: “Chaos by BJP at Signature Bridge inauguration site. It’s a Del govt prog. Police mute spectator. Can LG, being head of Del police, ensure peace and order at Signature bridge inauguration site?”

Anticipating a standoff between the two parties, police said they had set up multiple barricades. “Around 3.30 pm, Tiwari and his supporters reached the site. We tried to stop them, but some of them broke the barricades and reached the stage. They were raising anti-AAP slogans and carrying black flags. When additional DCP Meena and other personnel tried to stop them, Tiwari got into a scuffle,” claimed a police officer.

Read | Need schools, hospitals, not statues: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

Story continues below this ad

JCP (eastern range) Ravindra Yadav said: “The basic point of the dispute was that the MP wanted to get on the stage, whereas the organisers didn’t want him to. The BJP group was moving towards stage, so officers were like a buffer between the groups.”

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal inaugurates the bridge. (Express photo)

“It’s our professional hazard to bear the brunt of surging crowds in such situations… I have nothing to comment on statements made (by Tiwari),” Yadav said.

The ceremony started around 5 pm, after an hour’s delay — only to be marred by the scuffle between Khan and Tiwari. “Amanatullah Khan attacked me, egged on by Kejriwal, which is a proof of his gunda culture,” Tiwari alleged.

However, Khan said: “He was not invited to the event. He came with 500 people who were trying to disrupt the ceremony. The video released by him is false, I did not push him.”

Story continues below this ad

The ceremony started around 5 pm, after an hour’s delay. (Express photo)

DCP (northeast) A K Thakur said allegations from both sides were being verified.

Tiwari further claimed he “wanted to go to the CM and give him a bouquet and ask how he feels inaugurating work that has been done by someone else”.

In his speech at the event, Sisodia said that if Tiwari was “so fond of” going to inaugurations, he should work constructively. “It is the Modi government’s rule that the CM of elected government in Delhi will not be invited to any inaugural function. We deliberately did not invite (Tiwari),” Sisodia said, adding that no one from the Delhi government was invited to the inauguration of the ITO Skywalk.