News Analysis India

Tag: aap

  • Uttar Pradesh court issues non-bailable warrant against AAP MP Sanjay Singh in ‘hate speech’ case

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: A court here on Tuesday issued non-bailable warrant against AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh in an alleged hate speech case. Judge PK Rai of the MP-MLA court fixed February 17 as the next date of hearing.

    Singh had on August 12, 2020 held a press conference here, wherein he had alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government was favouring one particular caste. An FIR was registered against him with Hazratganj police under sections 153-A, 153-B, 501, 505(1), 505(2) of the IPC.

    After probe, the investigating officer filed a charge sheet on September 7. Ten days later, the state government granted sanction for prosecution of Singh. The special court took cognisance of the charge sheet and issued summons to Singh on December 4.

    Singh moved the Allahabad High Court but Justice Rakesh Srivastava on January 21 dismissed his plea to quash the MP-MLA court’s order, accepting the arguments of government advocate Vimal Srivastava that there was no illegality in the special court’s order.

    Singh’s lawyer on Tuesday requested the MP-MLA court to exempt his personal appearance, but the judge declined the plea saying that he had not obtained bail till date.

  • SC refuses to stay arrest warrant against AAP MP Sanjay Singh in ‘hate speech’ cases

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in connection with hate speech cases.​Singh had approached the top court seeking quashing of multiple FIRs lodged against him in various districts of Uttar Pradesh following his press conference last year in August, where he claimed that people of the state feel a specific caste is running the government.

    Singh has also challenged the January 21 order of the Allahabad High Court that refused to quash the FIR in Lucknow.

    A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said it would not pass any order without going through the high court verdict and said the AAP leader could seek exemption from appearance before the trial court and slated the hearing for next week. 

    Singh alleged that multiple FIRs were registered against him at the instance of BJP’s members at various police stations in different districts of the state.

    “The said FIRs have been filed against the petitioner out of the malice and sheer political vendetta with intent to coerce, harass and intimidate the petitioner as a part of a larger ploy to muzzle the opposition leaders, from speaking up against the government of Uttar Pradesh,” the plea stated.

    The MP has also alleged that the sole aim of the state machinery was to prevent him from campaigning in Uttar Pradesh in the run-up to the Assembly elections scheduled to be held in 2022.

  • ‘AAP will take legal action against BJP’: Manish Sisodia over doctored video of Kejriwal

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: AAP leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday said that his party will take legal action against the BJP for allegedly sharing a doctored video of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on social media recently.

    A BJP spokesperson had tweeted a video claiming that Kejriwal has supported the three contentious farm laws.

    ​Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Sisodia said, “The BJP knows that Kejriwal is the only leader with credibility and hence they have used his doctored interview to create a false impression among the people.”

    “This doctored video was created by selectively editing a long interview of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and placing fake bytes in some places. The Aam Aadmi Party will not allow such machinations by the BJP and will take legal action against them,” he said.

    Sisodia claimed that since the BJP has ‘failed in all its machinations’ against the farmers, they plotted a new scheme riding on Kejriwal’’s popularity.

    “We pity the BJP’s tactics who despite having their government at the Centre and in many states, have lost people’s trust and hence have to use Arvind Kejriwal’s doctored video to save the farm laws,” the deputy CM said. 

    Sisodia said when BJP couldn’t explain the farm laws to the farmers, it started branding them traitors and Khalistani.

    Then BJP conducted a sponsored protest at the Red Fort and disrespected the national flag. Now, Indian public has understood BJP’s ill-intentions and does not believe in their conspiracies.

    “BJP sent its goons to Singhu border where they disrespected the Sikh community by throwing their turbans and attacked the protesting farmers. They tried to portray it as an attack by the locals, but thankfully Indian public saw through this and has understood BJP’s tactics,” Sisodia said.

  • Violence on Republic Day scripted by BJP to discredit farmers’ movement: AAP

    In response, Delhi BJP General Secretary Harsh Malhotra claimed that no BJP worker was involved in any violence or protest against the agitating farmers.

  • Violence on Republic Day scripted by BJP to discredit farmers’ movement: AAP

    Saurabh Bhardwaj said that, on January 26, BJP agent Deep Sidhu was allowed by the Delhi police to start his march to enter Delhi much before the farmers.

  • Farmers’ demands valid, attempts to discredit them completely wrong: Kejriwal

    Kejriwal was responding to a tweet from an unverified account of farmer leader Rakesh Tikait in which he had thanked him for making arrangements at the border for farmers.

  • Arvind Kejriwal calls Republic Day violence ‘unfortunate’, but says ‘it won’t end farmers movement’

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The violence on Republic Day was ‘unfortunate’, but it would not end the farmers’ movement against the Centre’s new agriculture laws, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday. He said ‘strictest punishment’ must be given to those responsible for the violence.

    Kejriwal at a meet said the farmers’ protest against the farm laws is a battle of existence for them. “The violence on Republic Day was unfortunate and whoever is responsible for it must be given strictest punishment,” he said.

    “But the violence will not lead to the end of the farmers movement, the issues still remain so the movement cannot end. We have to peacefully extend our support to the protesting farmers,” he said.“Whoever is responsible for the turn of events, and I am not referring to the ones against whom police have registered fake cases, deserves to be punished. Whoever is responsible, whichever party is responsible, should be acted against.

    ALSO READ | AAP to boycott President’s address to joint sitting of parliament over farmers’ protest

    “A nation where farmers are unhappy can never prosper. We all have to support them in our states, and our support should be non-violent. Whenever you do that, leave your party caps and flags at your homes. The support should be non-political, and you should support them as a common man,” he underlined.

    Kejriwal also claimed, “They were promised loan waivers that did not happen’ they were promised jobs to their children that did not happen. Over 3.5 lakh farmers have committed suicide in the last 25 years. Now, these three bills will snatch their livelihood, that is farming, and give it to the corporates,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Farmers’ protest comes to an end in UP’s Baghpat; protesters allege use of force by police

    ALSO WATCH:

    Addressing a press conference, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia called the violence during the farmers tractor rally part of a “conspiracy”.

    “The violence has been done under a conspiracy to discredit the farmers movement, and the real culprits of this violence are not being acted upon. The three agriculture laws must be repealed,” he said.

    The ruling AAP in Delhi has strongly come out in favour of the farmers protesting against the agri-marketing laws.

    The party had, in a statement on Tuesday, said that the Centre allowed the situation to deteriorate.

    It had said the violence “has certainly weakened the movement”, which was peaceful and disciplined over the last two months.

    Tens of thousands of farmers broke barriers to storm the national capital on Republic Day, their tractor parade to highlight their demands dissolving into unprecedented scenes of anarchy as they fought with police, overturned vehicles and delivered a national insult hoisting a religious flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort, a privilege reserved for India’s tricolour.

    (With PTI inputs)

  • AAP to boycott President’s address to joint sitting of parliament over farmers’ protest

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A day before the start of the Budget Session of Parliament, the AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Thursday said his party will boycott the president’s address to the joint sitting of both houses over the ongoing farmers’ protest.

    Singh said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demands complete roll back of three agri laws.

    He alleged the “anti-farmer” legislations were aimed at benefiting a few industrialists.

    “The Aam Aadmi Party is opposing these anti-farmer laws from the very first day and our protest will continue.

    This is why it has decided to boycott the President’s address tomorrow at Parliament.

    “AAP Lok Sabha MP Bhagwant Mann and all the three Rajya Sabha MPs will not attend the President’s address tomorrow,” he said.

    ALSO READ: West Bengal assembly passes resolution demanding withdrawal of new farm laws

    While Bhagwant Mann is a member of the Lok Sabha, Sanjay Singh, N D Gupta and Sushil Gupta are the AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs.

    Apart from the AAP, 16 opposition parties have also decided to boycott President Ram Nath Kovind’s address on Friday in solidarity with the farmers protesting the new farm laws.

    The 16 parties are the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, National Conference, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI, Indian Union Muslim League, RSP, Peoples Democratic Party, MDMK, Kerala Congress (M) and the All India United Democratic Front.

    These opposition parties have demanded an independent probe into the Centre’s role in the violence that shook the national capital during the farmers” tractor parade on Republic Day.

    They also demanded the repeal of the three farm laws and criticised the central government for remaining unresponsive to the demands of lakhs of farmers protesting against the agri laws.

  • AAP will contest elections in six states: Kejriwal

    Kejriwal urged AAP members to strengthen the party at grassroots level.

  • Punjab CM Amarinder Singh blames AAP for ‘attack’ on Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu

    By PTI
    PATIALA: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday blamed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers for the “attack” on Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu at the Singhu border the day before, a charge the main opposition party in the state denied.

    Bittu was on Sunday allegedly assaulted, pushed around and his turban pulled off in what he described was a “murderous attack” by some “mischievous elements” during a ‘Jan Sansad’ programme at the Singhu border.

    The Ludhiana MP’s vehicle was also damaged in the attack at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji Memorial where he had gone with Congress’ Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla and party MLA Kulbir Singh Zira to attend the event.

    The chief minister alleged that the “attack” was not the handiwork of the peacefully protesting farmers but of AAP workers, whose only agenda is to weaken the farmers’ fight by “creating trouble” at the behest of the BJP.

    Responding, co-incharge of AAP’s Punjab unit Raghav Chadha claimed the farmers were turning against Congress leaders and that the protest was done by “aam aadmi (common people)” and not by the AAP.

    Speaking to reporters here, Amarinder Singh said farmers have been protesting peacefully at Delhi’s borders for over two months now without resorting to any such acts.

    AAP workers present near the Jan Sansad “attacked and manhandled” Bittu and MLA Zira, he claimed.

    “AAP is camping there,” the chief minister claimed. 

    “No one but AAP is responsible for the attack. Farmers are not responsible,” he added.

    “They (AAP workers) should understand that the country thrives on ‘Lokshahi (democracy)’ and not ‘dhakashahi (push and shove)’,” Singh said.

    Intelligence reports indicate that AAP workers intermingled with farmers and allegedly assaulted the Congress leaders, he claimed, adding that AAP’s “desperate attempts” to undermine him and his government in Punjab were becoming “more and more brazen by the day”.

    After their efforts to spread false propaganda and lies about the Congress-led government in Punjab failed to mislead the farmers, they “resorted to violence” against Bittu and Zira, the chief minister alleged.

    The farmers had no reason to assault the Punjab Congress leaders, Amarinder Singh further said, adding, “Such tactics would not help AAP to drive a wedge between his government and the farmers which they have been trying to do for months now at the bidding of Arvind Kejriwal, who is clearly dancing to the BJP leadership’s tune.”

    AAP’s Raghav Chadha, however, refuted the allegations levelled by the Punjab chief minister, and claimed Bittu was opposed at the protest venue only because of the statements he had made against farmers.

    “We want to make it clear to Captain (Amarinder) and to the Congress party that AAP had nothing to do with this attack,” Chadha said in a statement.

    If anyone is responsible for what happened on Sunday, it is the Congress party, Ravneet Bittu and the chief minister himself, he added.

    “A few days ago, Ravneet Bittu crossed the line of shamelessness and made all false statements against the farmers’ movement. People now know that Captain’s government is a fake government,” Chadha claimed.

    Amarinder Singh, in the meanwhile, said he was hopeful that the farmers’ tractor parade would be peaceful.

    Farmer leaders and kisan unions fighting the farm laws understand the gravity of the situation and will not do anything to damage their own efforts, he added.