Arvind Kejriwal 'invited' ED to arrest him by not responding to summonses: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal effectively invited his own arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) due to his repeated failure to respond to summonses, suggesting that it might have been a tactic to garner political sympathy.
Sarma emphasised that when a person disregards nine summonses from the ED, it indicates a deliberate invitation for arrest.
He remarked that if Kejriwal had complied with the initial summonses, his arrest might have been avoided.
Speaking to reporters at the state BJP headquarters here after a poll-preparedness meeting on Saturday, Sarma said, "If the ED serves someone nine summonses and that person doesn't show up, it is evident that he is inviting his arrest. The ED didn't arrest Kejriwal, he invited the agency to arrest him."
The BJP leader cited the examples of politicians such as Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, who appeared before the ED when they were issued summonses, implying that Kejriwal's actions deviated from this norm.
When questioned about Kejriwal's refusal to comply with the summonses, Sarma speculated about potential political motivations, suggesting that it could have been a strategy to elicit sympathy from the public.
The ED arrested Kejriwal on Friday, hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency.
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MediaOne TV Facebook page restored after block linked to ‘government request’
Kochi: The official Facebook page of Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV has been restored after being blocked without prior notice, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The channel was quoted by Maktoob as saying that the restriction was lifted automatically, with Meta Platforms informing it that the action had been taken following a “government request” which has now expired or been reversed.
The development came shortly after the channel approached the Kerala High Court challenging the blocking of its page, terming it arbitrary and in violation of legal provisions and judicial precedents. The High Court had issued notice to Meta via email hours before the restriction was withdrawn.
In its petition, the channel said access to its Facebook page had been restricted for users in India without citing any specific content or alleged violation. It contended that while individual posts may be taken down under applicable a rule, blocking an entire page goes beyond the scope of such measures.
The incident followed an earlier action taken against the channel in 2022, when the Ministry of Information and transmitting prohibited it from transmitting. It cited national security concerns regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs' refusal of security clearance.
The Supreme Court of India in April 2023 set aside the ban, observing that national security claims cannot be made without substantive basis and that criticism of government policies does not render a media outlet anti-national.
