Live: Kejriwal to take on Modi in Varanasi, black ink, eggs thrown at AAP leaders

Varanasi: AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal announced Tuesday that he will challenge BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the parliamentary election from Varanasi.Speaking at a rally of AAP supporters waving scores of brooms, the party's election symbol, Kejriwal asked aloud if he should contest the Lok Sabha polls from this Hindu holy city.As the crowds at the Beniyabagh ground responded with a roaring "yes", the former Delhi chief minister declared: "I am ready to accept the challenge."Amid wild cheering and clapping, a party activist then garlanded Kejriwal, who had said days earlier that he would take on Modi if he got the approval of the people of Varanasi.Kejriwal dubbed Modi's development agenda as a farce and said he had seen for himself the many holes when he visited Gujarat recently.He also challenged Modi for a public debate, saying the BJP star had the tendency to avoid the media and public debates.Earlier, eggs were thrown at AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's car, and black ink was hurled at AAP leaders including Kejriwal, as they came out on a roadshow in Varanasi today vowing to take on BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections. As Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and other leaders on top of a truck began their roadshow through the streets of Varanasi, some people threw black ink at them, splattering their clothes and faces. The leaders wiped off their faces and put up a brave front, and went to Beniabagh where they addressed a big rally. Speaker after speaker asked the people of Varanasi to ensure that Kejriwal won and Modi was defeated. One AAP leader Sanjay Singh reminded people of how the son of the soil of Varanasi Raj Narain had defeated the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1977 from Rae Bareli.In the morning, Kejriwal, wearing a lungi, took a holy dip in the river Ganga and visited the Kal Bhairav, Sankat Mochan and Kashi Vishwanath temples. It was outside one of the temples that some persons threw eggs at his vehicle.Calling him a "traitor", hundreds of slogan-shouting people blocked his cavalcade while keeping up a steady chant of "Modi! Modi!". Security personnel had a tough time controlling the crowd. The demonstrators said they wanted only Gujarat Chief Minister Modi to contest the Lok Sabha battle from Varanasi.Later, as Kejriwal proceeded towards the rally ground in an open vehicle ringed by hundreds of supporters, ink was thrown at him.The ink stained his face and clothes and also those of his party leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh.The man who threw the ink was identified as Ambrish, said to be a member of Hindu Vahini Sena. Police whisked him away. All through the route, many waved black flags and raised anti-AAP slogans.Kejriwal supporters in hundreds have been campaigning for him for days in Varanasi.Vaibhav Maheshwari, who handles the media for the AAP in Uttar Pradesh, said, Kejriwal-Modi contest would not be symbolic. He said its outcome would be "stunning".Kejriwal, who founded the AAP in November 2012, led the party to a dramatic debut in Delhi in December 2013 by winning 28 of the 70 seats, and then formed a minority government that lasted 49 days.Here is the live reporting of Kejriwal's Varanasi visit: 6:31pm - Kejriwal concludes his speech.6:30pm - Kejriwal:I have nothing against either Modi or Rahul. I just want everybody to live in peace. And I would like to sing a few lines of our party's song. Kejriwal sings the song - Insaan ka insaan se ho bhaichara, yehi paigam hamara.6:28pm - Kejriwal:I'm ready to take this challenge but I have no money. I'll come to you for donations like Madan Mohan Malviya did.Today I invite Modi for a debate. Let Modi come here and tell us what kind of development Gujarat has witnessed. 6:27pm- Kejriwal:Let me ask this question - should I contest from Varanasi against Narendra Modi? The crowd says yes.6:25pm - Kejriwal:They talk about stability in the country but who cares for stability? I don't mind instability if it's in the interest of people.6:20pm - Kejriwal:I propose let us defeat both UPA and NDA. How will we achieve that? The best way is to defeat both Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi in their respective constituencies.The upcoming elections will be fought in these two constituencies only.6:15pm - Kejriwal:Modi said he can't indulge because he is not married. Does it mean that women make men corrupt. This is completely wrong. My wife has always supported me. BJP is today desperate to achieve 272+ seats. BJP has admitted B Sriramulu. They have admitted Ram Vilas Paswan for 5 percent votes. 6:12pm - Kejriwal:People ask me why is Modi winning for last three terms in Gujarat if he has not delivered in the state. I asked the same question to people of Gujarat and they said that Modi is winning because there is no alternative. Congress is no more in the contest in the state.6:09 pm: Kejriwal: Nobody has the courage to touch Ambani. I was the first CM to get an FIR filed against Ambani in Delhi, which was opposed by both Congress and BJP. 6:05 pm: Kejriwal: Both Congress and BJP want big industries to survive and small weavers and industries to die. BJP govt in 2000 gave oil wells to Ambani. When Congress came to power in 2004, it raised the cost of gas from $ 1 to $4 , and now it wants to raise it to $ 8.Even Modi's government wants to raise it to $ 16. Both Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi move in Ambani's helicopters and planes, and their rallies are being funded by Ambani. 6:04 pm: Kejriwal: 60,000 small and medium scale industries have been closed in Gujarat in last 10 years. If Modi gets vote from here, the weavers and small industries will not survive any more.6:02 pm: Kejriwal: BJP opposes FDI in retail, but recently Modi has said that local retailers should not be afraid of international competition. Will BJP allow FDI in retail if it comes to power? Modi has colluded with foreign investors even before the elections are over.6 pm: Kejriwal: Modi's government acquired Rs 50 lakh per acre land at Rs 1 lakh per acre which he gave away to industrialist Adani. The farmers of Gujarat are shedding tears of blood. Earlier, farmers used to get subsidies on tractors and other implements, but Modi's government stopped those subsidies. 5,878 farmers have committed suicide in Gujarat in the last 10 years.5:58 pm: Kejriwal: I went to gujarat to understand Modi's development model. 26 of our teams spread out in Gujarat to check out. For me, country is bigger, not the party. Modi is doing the same what Rahul and Manmohan Singh have been doing for the last 10 years. Let me tell people of Varanasi: if you vote for Modi, your land will not be safe. Modi has links with industrialists like Advani and Adani. His government has taken away land from farmers and given to industrialists without giving compensation.5:49 pm: Kejriwal: I have some good news for housewives of India today. The Election Commission has stopped the hike in gas prices. Hike in gas prices could have caused untold inflation.5:47 pm: Kejriwal: Today I took the blessings of Kal Bhairav and Kashi Vishwanath. I took a holy dip in Ganga. The water has become very much polluted. People told me, in the times of Pandit Kamlapati Tripathi, improvements used to take place in Varanasi, but today everything is in doldrums in this city. 5:40 pm: Arvind Kejriwal begins speech (his short is ink-stained). Says ; "Black ink was thrown at us. This is not Varanasi's culture. This was done by outsiders. I had gone to Modi's Gujarat. Our vehicle was attacked four times. Kumar Vishwas went to Amethi, and his men were attacked several times. I want to ask the question: Did BJP people show black flags to Congress leaders, or did Congrss leaders ever show black flags to BJP leaders like Modi, Yeddyurappa, Gadkari? This shows, both BJP and Congress are hand-in-gloves. And their common enemy is Aam Aadmi Party. These parties were looting the country for the last 60 years. This time AAP spread the raita, and jumbled up their calculations.5:20 pm: AAP candidate from Amethi Kumar Vishwas gives a rousing speech. Says: "Some leaders from Varanasi came to meet me in Amethi and thanked me for taking on Rahul Gandhi, but requested me not to allow Kejriwal to come to Varanasi. I asked them why. They said, Kashi is our locality. I told them, dogs have their own localities. Why do these people throw ink at us? Because we meet them in close range. These throwers don't have the courage to come within inches of their own leaders ringed by securitymen. 5:01 pm: AAP leader manish Sisodia speaks with ink-stained shirt. Says, gas prices are going to rise because govt is going to pay $8 in place of $4 for gas to Ambani's company. We went to Gujarat, and found rates of bribes have been fixed in almost all departments. Rs 500 for getting a birth/death certificate, Rs, 5000 for a driving licence at the RTO in Gujarat. Corruption is rampant in schools and hospitals. Land belonging to farmers are being parcelled away to corporates in Gujarat.5:54 pm: Kejriwal: BJP does do not know the politics of principles. In the last 10 years, the UPA government looted the country, more compared to the British rulers. For the last one year, a great conspiracy has been going on in this country. Some media owners conspired with Modi to project him as the "development man". It's the media which has created the illusion about Modi's development claims. Some members of the media have betrayed this nation, and has fooled this country for the last one year.5:52 pm: Kejriwal: Let me tell you I had no "shauk" of contesting from Varanasi. Normally leaders search for safe seats. Had I hankered for power, why should I have resigned my chief ministership. BJP and Congress joined hands and did not allow our Jan Lokpal Bill to pass. BJP people say I am a "bhagoda" (escapist). Lal Bahadur Shastri was the railway minister, who had resigned after a railway accident. BJP was not there at the time, otherwise they could have described Shastri as bhagoda. 5:51 pm: Kejriwal: The EC has stayed the gas price hike for 2 months. But if you make a mistake in the polls, then all of you will face pricerise for ever. 4:59 pm: Sanjay Singh reminds people of Varanasi how the son of the soil late Raj Narain defeated the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Inflict the same defeat on Narendra Modi here and make Kejriwal victorious.4:50 pm: Sanjay Singh rattles out the names of dynasties in Indian politics right from Nehru-Gandhi to Charan Singh, Mulayam Yadav, Lalu Yadav, Biju Patnaik, Rajnath Singh, and the crowd applauds. 4:49 pm: Sanjay Singh: Tickets are sold for Rs 5 crores on auction in BSP. SP leaders say they are secular and fighting against communalists. There were 126 communal riots during SP rule in UP. We in AAP will throw out all the corrupt leaders from politics. 4:45 pm: Sanjay Singh: Don't trust the Congress leaders too, who are corrupt. They even make money from hearing aids of disabled people. (sound system breaks down during his speech)4:40 pm: AAP leader Sanjay Singh speaks (with ink stains on his kurta): "BJP leaders swallowed crores of rupees donations collection in the name of Ram temple. People of Varanasi should stop giving votes in the name of religion and caste and vote on issues like poor roads, poor water and power supply. BJP leaders are Mayor, MP, and MLAs from here and yet Varanasi is full of filth. People of Varanasi must use jhadu (broom) to remove dirt from the city.3:05 pm: Onlookers more curious to see Kejriwal, as his procession proceeds towards Beniabagh, followed by a cavalcade of vehicles. 3 pm: Kejriwal holding a broom (party election symbol) in his right hand welcomes people on both sides of road. Most of the AAP workers and leaders are wearing AAP caps. 2:55 pm: A protester throws ink at AAP leader Sanjay Singh, but road show goes on. 2:50 pm: Huge police reinforcement deployed to provide security to Kejriwal, as the procession goes towards Beniabagh.2:45 pm: Huge crowds gather in Varanasi streets to greet AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh and other leaders atop a truck welcome people lining on both sides of the road. 1 pm: Eggs thrown by some protesters at Arvind Kejriwal's car as he was coming out of Kashi Vishwanath temple after prayers. 10: 48 am: Anti-Kejriwal activists gather outside Kaal Bhairav temple shout slogans.10:45 am: Kejriwal with his family members take dip Holy Ganga river at Rajghat. Offers prayer at Kaal Bhairav temple.8:15 am: Kejriwal arrives in Varanasi.

Live: Kejriwal to take on Modi in Varanasi, black ink, eggs thrown at AAP leaders

Varanasi: AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal announced Tuesday that he will challenge BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the parliamentary election from Varanasi.Speaking at a rally of AAP supporters waving scores of brooms, the party's

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