'Conspiracy': Attack sparks political row

The attack on chief minister Rekha Gupta during a “Jan Sunwai (public hearing)" programme sparked a war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with the former alleging a “conspiracy” behind the attack and the opposition party an attempt by the BJP to defame the AAP. The row started over an image posted by BJP MLA Harish Khurana, in which the attacker was seen with Gopal Italia, an AAP Gujarat leader. The AAP refuted the allegation, calling it an Al-generated image. BJP parliamentarian Ramvir Singh Bidhuri demanded a screening of the attacker's phone logs. “The conspiracy behind the attack must

- Alok KN Mishra

be exposed to find out who is upset with the significant development made by Rekha Gupta’s government within just six months and who wants to harm her. The CCTV footage clearly shows that the attacker first conducted a recce of the CM's residence. It should be investigated who the attacker spoke to on the phone during the recce. To whom was the attacker providing all the information?” Bidhuri said.