New Delhi: Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday stepped back into public life with a defiant message just days after an alleged assault during her Jan Sunwai at Civil Lines. While she addressed a traders’ gathering in Gandhi Nagar, police escorted away two men suspected of creating a disturbance near the venue, prompting stepped-up security around the chief minister.
Footage shared by ANI showed officers leading away a man in a shalwar kurta, though the police have not yet confirmed the motive behind the disruption. Witnesses said the man had argued with traders before shouting slogans against the chief minister. He was quickly removed without further incident, and the programme continued.
Gupta was speaking at an event organised by the Association of Wholesale Readymade Garments Dealers, where she sought to highlight East Delhi’s centrality to her government’s development agenda. “We will once again place Yamunapar at the forefront of Delhi’s development,” she declared, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, which she said would ease residents’ daily lives.
More significantly, she struck a combative note against attempts to silence her through attacks or disruptions. “Your chief minister Didi will not be afraid, will not get tired, will not lose. Till Delhi gets its rights, she will keep fighting with you,” she told supporters, drawing applause.
The Gandhi Nagar event marked her first major appearance since Wednesday’s attack, when a man attempted to assault her during a Jan Sunwai session. She was kept under medical observation and advised rest but returned to public events on Friday, insisting that her resolve remained unshaken. “I will neither fear, nor tire, nor surrender,” Gupta said, according to the Chief Minister’s Office. She added that “every moment of my life and every particle of my being belongs to Delhi” and vowed that public hearings would now be held across all Assembly constituencies instead of being confined to her residence.
Reiterating her determination, Gupta said, “Such assaults can never break my resolve or weaken my commitment to public service. Women, after all, have double the strength to withstand adversity. I too am ready.”
While police continue investigations into both the Civil Lines attack and Friday’s Gandhi Nagar disturbance, officials said security has been tightened around the chief minister’s events.