YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy tweeted that he was fine after suffering a minor injury on his shoulder following an attack with a sharp object by a waiter at the VIP lounge in the Visakhapatnam airport on Thursday afternoon.
Jagan was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for first-aid, after which he left for Hyderabad. The YSR Congress chief issued a statement via Twitter insisting that these kinds of cowardly acts won't dissuade him.
His tweet read, "To everyone worried about my safety - I’d like to inform you that I am safe. God's grace and the love, concern & blessings of the people of Andhra Pradesh will protect me. Such cowardly acts will not dissuade me but only strengthen my resolve to work for the people of my state!"
The attacker was identified as Srinivas from Mummidivaram in East Godavari district, has been arrested immediately. The sharp object, which looks like the ones that are used during cockfights, has also been seized.
According to police and eyewitnesses, Srinivas approached Jagan for a selfie at the VIP lounge where the latter was waiting. The YSRC chief obliged him and while posing for the selfie, Srinivas stabbed Jagan on his left shoulder. Srinivas tried to stab him again for the second time. Luckily, he was overpowered by nearby party activists and leaders.
CISF personnel and local police immediately whisked away Srinivas for questioning. The incident has shocked YSRC activists and leaders, who came in large numbers to the airport.
YSRC MLA Roja blamed the state government for the attack and said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his party are behind the attack.
Meanwhile, Home Minister China Rajappa termed the incident unfortunate and said the police were gathering details about the attacker. The Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, while expressing his shock over the incident, has asked all the agencies including CISF to investigate the attack thoroughly.
(With inputs from ENS)