The two individuals, Daksh and Annu Chaudhary, who attacked Congress candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, defended their actions, stating that their motive was not linked to any political party. They claimed that they planned to slap Kanhaiya Kumar due to a speech he delivered in 2016 at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where he allegedly raised "anti-national slogans." The attackers asserted that they had no affiliation with any political group.
During Kanhaiya Kumar's election campaign in North East Delhi, Daksh and Annu approached him under the pretense of garlanding him but instead slapped him, threw ink at him, and assaulted an AAP councillor, Chhaya Gaurav Sharma.
In an interview with India Today TV, the attackers explained their motivation, stating that they were cow vigilantes and had decided to attack Kanhaiya Kumar after hearing about his speech at JNU. They accused Kanhaiya of raising slogans in support of Afzal Guru and against the Indian Army, specifically mentioning the slogan "Bharat tere tukde honge" (India will be broken into pieces) and alleging that soldiers rape women in Kashmir. They claimed that their attack was intended to "protect the country" and teach "traitors" a lesson.
Daksh and Annu emphasized that their attack was premeditated, denying any association with a political party or external influence. They asserted that their actions did not violate the law and expressed readiness to surrender to the police.
Furthermore, they defended their actions by questioning whether someone who raised "tukde tukde" slogans and insulted the army should be allowed to enter Parliament. They highlighted their social media presence, with Daksh having nearly four lakh followers on Instagram and Annu having 12,400 followers. Both individuals mentioned their involvement in running cow shelters for several years.
Previously, the Ghaziabad Police had arrested Daksh and Annu on charges of disturbing peace.
