New Delhi: A court slammed Delhi Police on Tuesday for failing to show any evidence against Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, observing that people are out on the streets because things which should have been said inside Parliament were not said.
Delhi Police was behaving as if Jama Masjid was Pakistan, Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau said, adding that even if it was, one can protest there peacefully.
Pakistan was once part of undivided India, she said.
The court's observations came while hearing bail plea of Azad, who was arrested in a case related to anti-CAA ptotests in old Delhi's Daryaganj area.
"Inside the Parliament, things which should have been said, were not said and that is why people are out on the streets. We have full right to express our views but we cannot destroy our country.
"You are behaving as if Jama Masjid was Pakistan and even if it was Pakistan, you can go there and protest. Pakistan was a part of undivided India," the judge said.
The court asked the investigating officer of the police to put on record all the evidence which showed that Azad was allegedly giving incriminatory speeches at the gathering at Jama Masjid and any law which showed that the gathering there was unconstitutional.
It has put up the matter for further hearing on Wednesday. During the hearing, police told the court they have only drone images of the gathering as evidence and no other recording.
To this, the judge said, "Do you think Delhi police is so backward that it has no tools to record anything?
"Show me anything or any law that prohibits such gathering... Where is the violence? Who says you cannot protest...have you read the Constitution. It is one's Constitutional right to protest."
The court further observed that Azad, having a law degree, can also protest inside the courts. It noted that Azad's Ambedkarite philosophy probably required more research.
"Azad is probably an Ambedkarite. Ambedkar was more closer to the Muslims, Sikhs and basically the repressed class of the society... He was a rebel of his own kind. Probably Azad has a vague idea of what he wants to say but probably not able to put it across. If you take up an issue, you do your research. And that is missing, " the court said.
The plea, filed through advocate Mehmood Pracha, claimed that there was no evidence against the allegations made against Azad in the FIR and his arrest was illegal.
Azad's outfit had called for a protest march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar against the amended Citizenship Act on December 20, without police permission.
Other 15 people arrested in the case were granted bail by the court on January 9.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Lucknow (PTI): Denied a ticket from Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat, BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Thursday wrote an emotional letter to the people of his constituency in which he asserted that his relationship with them will remain intact till his last breath.
Sharing the letter on X, he said, his relationship with Pilibhit is one of love and trust which is far above any political calculations.
The BJP has fielded Uttar Pradesh Public Works Minister Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit replacing Gandhi, who has been vocal against his own government several times on the issue of inflation and unemployment.
Prasada had filed his nominations on this seat on Wednesday.
Recounting his association with the constituency, he said "Today, when I am writing this letter, countless memories have made me emotional. I remember that little three-year-old child who came to Pilibhit for the first time in 1983 holding the fingers of his mother. Little did he know that one day this land would become his work place and the people here would become his family".
"The ideals given by Pilibhit were instrumental in my upbringing and development not only as an MP but also as a person. Being your representative has been the greatest honour of my life and I have always raised my voice for your interests to the best of my ability," he said.
Varun Gandhi said his tenure as an MP may be coming to an end, but his relationship with Pilibhit can't end till his last breath.
"If not as an MP, then at least as a son, I am committed to serve you throughout my life and my doors will always remain open for you as before. I came into politics to raise the voice of the common man and today I seek your blessings to continue doing this work always. Even if I have to pay any cost for this," he added.
This is for the first time in over three decades that the mother-son duo of Maneka and Varun Gandhi will not be in the fray from the Pilibhit constituency which is located in the Terai belt bordering Nepal.
The denial of ticket to Varun Gandhi this time did not come as a surprise as he has been criticising the BJP on the issues of farmers, health and jobs.
After he was replaced by Prasada, reports did the rounds that Varun Gandhi might contest from the seat as an independent candidate. The suspense ended on Wednesday when he did not turn up before the nominations ended.
His mother Maneka Gandhi, the sitting MP from Sultanpur, was, however, given another chance from the same seat by the BJP.
The Pilibhit seat has remained with Maneka Gandhi or her son Varun Gandhi since 1996.
Maneka Gandhi won the seat on a Janata Dal ticket in 1989, lost in 1991 and won again in 1996. She won from the constituency in 1998 and 1999 as an Independent candidate. She won the seat in 2004 and 2014 as a BJP candidate.
Varun Gandhi won the seat in 2009 and 2019 as a BJP candidate.
प्रणाम पीलीभीत 🙏 pic.twitter.com/D6T3uDUU6o
— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) March 28, 2024