BJP defends itself saying AAP workers ‘distorted’ facts, AAP cries foul, says BJP running ‘jungle raj’ in Haryana.
New Delhi: After the weekend furore that landed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers in jail over the ‘CM for Punjabis’ jibe aimed at Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, it now turns out that the entire controversy began within the CM’s own party, the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The AAP workers were arrested Saturday for allegedly sharing ‘fake’ news clippings and an advertisement, both of which had referred to Khattar as a ‘Punjabi chief minister’ of Haryana.
The BJP has now admitted that the advertisement, which appeared in local dailies including Karnal Kesri, Amar Ujala My City, and Dainik Jagran Karnal on 16 December, was actually put out by one of its own workers.
The advertisement, which urged voters to choose the BJP, claimed that “certain castes wanted to get rid of the Punjabi’s chief minister”. “Support your Punjabi chief minister openly,” it added.
“We have identified the karyakarta (worker) and he has apologised,” said Amit Arya, the media adviser to Khattar. He told ThePrint that in the run-up to the mayoral elections on 16 December, many legislators and workers had put out advertisements in their personal capacity.
Arya also said that the AAP workers were arrested for “distortion of facts that had to be stopped”.
“They were spreading fake news clippings; the CM has never said he represents only the Punjabi community,” he added.
No action, however, has been taken against the karyakarta.
The arrests
Over the weekend, the Haryana Police arrested over 60 AAP workers for allegedly sharing the news clip and the advertisement on social media. They were acting on a complaint lodged by a businessman, Billu, in Sirsa.
The AAP alleged that police launched simultaneous raids across Haryana at around 1 am on Saturday, which went on till 3 am. The AAP also claimed that police came wielding AK-47s.
Sirsa DSP Ravinder Tomar, however, denied the allegations, saying that police followed due process in effecting the arrests. “They (AAP) will say whatever they want to. We followed due process,” he said.
The AAP leaders and workers were charged under section 153 of the Indian Penal Code (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153 (A) (wanton vilification or attacks upon the religion, race, place of birth, of any particular group or class) and section 66 of the Information Technology Act (person who dispenses grossly offensive information).
While most have been granted bail, AAP leader Tarsem Chand, arrested in Sirsa, continues to remain in judicial custody.
The AAP has since lashed out at the BJP government. Its Haryana in-charge Navin Jaihind accused the state government of running a ‘jungle raj’.
“When the BJP themselves have posted such an ad, how can they take action against us?” Jaihind asked.
‘Police didn’t know why they were arresting us’
The AAP also alleged that the police had no clue why they were arresting the workers and leaders. The party’s social media in-charge of Haryana, Harpal Kranti, who was among those arrested, told ThePrint that when he asked why he was being arrested, an officer allegedly replied, “Upar se order aaya hai (The order has come from seniors).
“It was so absurd that when the judge asked the police — ‘why have you imposed these sections’. They had no answers,” added Kranti, who was granted bail by a Hisar court Sunday.
Jaihind backed Kranti’s claims. “When the judge came down on the police, they were scared. The only answer they could muster was that these people were troubling the chief minister,” Jaihind said.
Police, however, said they identified the AAP workers based on Facebook posts before arresting.
“In Sirsa, an FIR was filed against unknown people. We tracked the Facebook posts and arrested Chand at around 10.30am,” said Sirsa DSP Tomar.