Another shoe,this time aimed at Advani

“My son is under psychiatric treatment for the last three years. I asked him not to venture out this morning because he had not taken his tablet,” his father Surendra Agarwal told The Indian Express on phone.

Dr Sudhir Bhave,a psychiatrist who runs a clinic in Nagpur’s Ramdas Peth,confirmed that Agarwal was his patient,but refused to share details,saying it was confidential. “It’s possible that he could do such a thing,” he said without elaborating. The Indian Express has a copy of his prescriptions.

Embarrassed by the incident,the BJP claimed that Pawas Agarwal was no longer with the party and blamed his outburst on his mental condition. Agarwal was associated with the party for nearly two decades.

Advani,who was nearly 40 minutes behind schedule,completed his speech without referring to the incident and left before the meeting was over. Security at the meetings he was to address later was stepped up and the distance between the dais and public increased by several metres. However,the party tried to play down the incident.

The police booked him under Sections 151 (knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the IPC. The police said he misbehaved with them and did not cooperate when they tried to question him about the incident.

The BJP asked the media to avoid giving publicity to such acts. “What I can advise is that the media should avoid giving publicity to such maverick acts. These incidents would die down on their own,” BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said.