BJP, AAP members spar at Jantar Mantar

Both parties were protesting there on different issues: BJP on Sarabjit Singh's death & AAP on the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar

Tension gripped the air as a scuffle broke out between members of the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party at Jantar Mantar here Friday where both the political parties were protesting, on different issues.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal were protesting the death of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh after he was attacked in a Lahore prison, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, had joined the Sikh community's protests over the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

The trouble began when some members of AAP raised slogans, abusing the Congress and the BJP for failing to give justice to the riot victims. This led to heated arguments and members of both groups hurled abuses at one another amidst pushing and shoving.

The Sikh protestors repeatedly urged both the BJP and AAP groups to calm down as the situation threatened to get out of control.

Order was restored after leaders like Vijender Gupta of the BJP and Manish Sisodia of the AAP intervened. The drama lasted for about half an hour.

While the BJP accused the AAP of using the platform for political gains, senior AAP member Manish Sisodia said they just wanted justice for the Sikhs.

"No government has managed to give them justice. We are here to protest against the acquittal of Sajjan Kumar and have joined the protest of the family of Nirpreet Kaur, who began her indefinite hunger strike from today (Friday)," Manish Sisodia told IANS.

Along with Sisodia, AAP's Kejriwal, Gopal Rai, Sanjay Singh and Kumar Vishwas are also sitting on a day's fast in solidarity with Nirpreet Kaur, and would later continue to support her indefinite hunger strike.

The Sikh groups are angry that a city court acquitted Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the killing of five people in the Delhi Cantonment area during violence against Sikhs that followed the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi Oct 31, 1984.

The court convicted five others in the case.