Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was heckled by some attendees at an official event in the national Capital on Thursday, PTI reported. Some reports claimed the hecklers were workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

As the Aam Aadmi Party chief began his speech, several people from the front rows began coughing – an apparent imitation of the persistent cough that affected the chief minister till 2016. He underwent a corrective surgery in 2016 to fix the cough that had troubled him for about 40 years.

Soon after the mock-coughing began, Kejriwal asked for silence, but the commotion did not die down. Eventually, BJP leader and Union minister Nitin Gadkari intervened, saying: “Please keep quiet. This is an official event.” Union minister Harsh Vardhan also reportedly intervened.

The event was jointly organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and the Delhi Jal Board to launch projects to clean the Yamuna river. Besides Gadkari and Vardhan, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Minister of State for Water Resources Satyapal Singh were also present.