The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday alleged that Delhi L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena once led a violent mob that attacked social activist Medha Patkar at Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Saxena from the post. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s party also released a video of the incident that purportedly shows Saxena arguing with police officials as a group of people attacked Patkar at a peace meeting organized at the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad in the backdrop of post-Godhra riots.
AAP released a video footage claiming that Delhi L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena led a mob that attacked activist Medha Patkar.
Addressing a press conference, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said that everyone will feel ashamed after watching the video except Prime Minister Narendra Modi because he was the one who made Saxena Delhi L-G.
“The women of the country and crores of people must be thinking that PM Modi has done a very shameful act,” Singh said. “Modi ji, remove LG and ask him to join the court process.”
The March 2002 incident has snowballed into a fresh controversy after Saxena recently approached a court in Gujarat with a request to keep a criminal trial against him in abeyance till he holds the top post.
Saxena and three others, including Gujarat BJP MLA Amit P Shah, were booked for rioting, assault, wrongful restraint, criminal intimidation and intentional insult in connection with the 21-year-old case. Saxena prayed for the court to keep the trial against him in abeyance citing immunity granted to a Lieutenant Governor under Article 361 (1) of the Constitution.
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Patkar has opposed Saxena’s plea, holding his post is not equivalent to a Governor. In her reply to L-G’s plea, the Narmada Bachao Andolan leader insisted that immunity provided under Article 361 of the Constitution to certain top functionaries is not available to the Lieutenant Governor (LG).
“The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi… is not a Governor in terms of Article 153 of the Constitution of India, but merely an ‘Administrator’ of Union Territory who is appointed by the President to act on his behalf,” stated her reply.
Saxena founded the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL), a non-profit NGO with its headquarters in Ahmedabad, in 1991. The NCCL opposed Medha Patkar and her Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) in their attempts to stop construction of the Sardar Sarovar Project in Gujarat.
The official website of Delhi L-G mentions that NCCL built a “formidable opposition to those who, driven by some vested agenda, created hurdles to stall the construction of the SardarSarovar Project (SSP) and other upcoming hydro projects on Narmada Valley since 1991.”
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Image Source : PTI Like-minded Opposition leaders to discuss strategy for floor of house today in Parliament
Parliament: The third week of the second part of the Parliament session is underway and with the recently reported incidents of the logjam, like-minded opposition leaders will hold a crucial meeting today. It is being said that the opposition leaders will meet in the Rajya Sabha LoP chamber to discuss the strategy for the floor of the house.
Opposition is demanding JPC on the Adani issue
Till now parliament is witnessing a logjam as the Opposition is demanding Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) on the Adani issue and Treasury Benches were demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi for his speech in London alleging that he defamed the country on foreign soil.
Parliament session may witness ruckus
However, after the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership, the Parliament session is expected to witness a ruckus. Notably, Congress leaders will step up their protest against the Centre on Monday over the Adani issue and disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as MP from Lok Sabha wearing black clothes, party sources said on Sunday.
Congress MPs in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will attend the Parliament by putting on black clothes. The Congress MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, earlier in August last year, had worn black clothes and staged a protest against the Centre against price rise, GST hike on essential items and unemployment. They had marched towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan as part of their stir against the issues.
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Notably, Congress has demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue and staged protests in the Parliament’s ongoing Budget Session.
Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday apologised for a veiled tweet lamenting the snub by the party for a Rajya Sabha seat last year, saying he has realized his mistake drawing inspiration from Rahul Gandhi who “shuns power” and continues his ‘tapasya’. Addressing a gathering at the day-long protest at Rajghat against Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from Lok Sabha, Pawan Khera, Congress’s media and publicity department head, said, “If you try to murder democracy, Rahul Gandhi will speak, be it from inside Parliament or outside it.” (Also Read | You insult my martyr father, call his son ‘Mir Jafar’: What Priyanka Gandhi said)Congress leader Pawan Khera during a press conference at AICC headquarter.(PTI)
“You (BJP) are afraid when Rahul Gandhi takes the name of Adani, you will shiver when he will do so on the streets,” he said.
Referring to his tweet on May 29 last year after his name did not figure in a list of party’s Rajya Sabha nominees, Khera said, “I want to apologize to all of you, to my leadership that in selfishness, when I did not get a Rajya Sabha berth, I wrote that ‘shayad meri tapasya mein kuch kami reh gayi‘. Now I see Rahul Gandhi that he shuns power and still continues his tapasya, what could be bigger than that.”
“I apologize to all of you today. I have got inspiration from Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. It is time to fight, to raise one’s voice, power comes or doesn’t, we will fight and win,” Khera told the gathering with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders on the dais.
At the day-long protest, called ‘Sankalp Satyagraha’, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the time had come to raise a voice against an “arrogant government” as barring Rahul Gandhi from contesting elections does not bode well for the country and its democracy.
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“My family’s blood has nurtured democracy in this country. We are ready to do anything for this country’s democracy. Great leaders of the Congress laid the foundation of democracy in this country. If they think they can scare us, they are wrong. We will not be scared.”
“Time has come and we are not the ones who will remain silent anymore,” she told the outside Rajghat.
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Follow the latest breaking news and developments from India and around the world with Hindustan Times’ newsdesk. From politics and policies to the economy and the environment, from local issues to national events and global affairs, we’ve got you covered. …view detail
Image Source : PTI Congress MPs will attend the Parliament session today in black clothes.
Rahul Gandhi disqualification: Congress MPs will protest against the Modi government wearing black clothes over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as MP from Lok Sabha and the Adani issue in Parliament today. Congress MPs will attend the Parliament session today in black clothes. The grand old party on Sunday held a nationwide ‘Satyagraha’ against Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification.