SC to hear on Tuesday BJP activist's bail plea for sharing morphed photo of Mamata Banerjee
New Delhi, May 13: The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Tuesday the bail plea of a BJP activist who was arrested by West Bengal police for allegedly posting a morphed image of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media.
A vacation bench, comprising justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna, on Monday took note of the plea of senior advocate N K Kaul, representing the jailed activist, that her plea challenging the arrest needed to be heard urgently.
Priyanka Sharma, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, was arrested on May 10 by the state police under section 500 (defamation) of the IPC and under other provisions of the Information Technology Act on the complaint of a local Trinamool Congress leader Vibhas Hazra, the plea said.
The senior advocate said the BJP activist has been forced to move the apex court as there is a complete strike in local courts till May 14 in Howrah and moreover, she has been remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a Howrah local court on May 11.
Sharma allegedly shared on Facebook the photo in which Banerjee's face has been photoshopped on to actor Priyanka Chopra's picture from the MET Gala event in New York.
Her arrest was followed by protests from the BJP and other social media users.
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My party will complete 5-year term, says CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday asserted that the Congress government would complete its five-year term, while sidestepping questions on whether he personally would remain in office for the full duration.
Addressing reporters here, he maintained that decisions on the leadership would rest with the party high command and refrained from giving a direct answer on his own tenure.
“Our party will complete five years,” Siddaramaiah said, when asked if he would complete a full term as Chief Minister.
On the issue of leadership, he reiterated that the final call would be taken by the party leadership, saying, “The high command will decide. There’s no point asking the same thing again.”
Indicating his readiness to travel to the national capital if required, he said, “If I am called to Delhi, I will go,” adding that he would seek an appointment with Rahul Gandhi if needed.
The talks on leadership change have intensified in the power corridor of the state where claims were made that Siddaramaiah would make way for his Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
The Chief Minister also underlined that recent by-election victories in Bagalkote and Davanagere South assembly segment reflected public support for the government, stating that this clearly shows that people have appreciated the Congress government and its programmes.
The CM also dismissed the opposition’s claims, alleging they lacked strategy, and said local body elections would be conducted as per rules.
