Delhi Assembly issues notices to 3 top Punjab Police officers over FIR against Kapil Mishra, others
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Saturday said that notices have been issued to three top Punjab Police officers, seeking their replies within 48 hours over the registration of an FIR against Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra by using a video clip of the Assembly.
The notices have been issued to Punjab's director general of Police (DGP), special DGP (cyber crime) and the commissioner of Jalandhar police for "breach of Delhi Assembly's privileges", Gupta said in a press conference.
He said that the use of the video recording, which is a property of the Delhi Assembly, and the registration of the FIR based on it by Punjab Police is "unfortunate" and has hurt the dignity of the House.
Gupta said further action against the Punjab Police officers will be decided after receiving their replies.
The clip of the Assembly's video recording was used by Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra and several BJP MLAs, alleging that Leader of Opposition Atishi insulted Guru Tegh Bahadur in the Assembly after a debate on Tuesday on a Delhi programme held in November last year to mark the 350th martyrdom day of the ninth Sikh Guru.
The FIR was registered by the Jalandhar Police Commissionerate against Mishra and others for uploading and circulating an "edited and doctored" video of Atishi.
The Assembly has asked for all the related documents and the forensic report based on which Punjab Police claimed that the video was "doctored", Gupta said. He condemned the AAP regime in Punjab, alleging "misuse" of the state police by it.
The BJP MLAs have demanded cancelling Atishi's Assembly membership for allegedly "insulting" the Sikh Guru.
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Bypolls: K'taka Cong Minority Abdul Jabbar chief resigns amid allegations of 'internal conspiracy'
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress Minority Department President K Abdul Jabbar announced his resignation from the post on Saturday, a day after a group of Muslim leaders accused members of their own party of "conspiring" to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
Jabbar, an MLC, was an aspirant for the Congress ticket from the Davanagere South Assembly segment.
"It has been an honor for me to serve as Chairman of the KPCC Minority department and have worked to the best of my ability during assembly elections 2023 and followed by Parliament polls and many such occasions whenever the party needed the minority department and showed results. I have toured the entire state of Karnataka and worked to align the minorities with Congress values and principles. Most of it is available in the public domain," Jabbar has said in a letter to the party.
"Minority voters and minority office bearers are the backbone of our great Congress party and certainly deserve better," he said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President, confirmed Jabbar's resignation.
"I won't speak about this now, I have got some reports. The Minority President has submitted his resignation. I will verify things, I will seek a report from local leaders after that I will speak," he told reporters in response to a question on internal conspiracy.
A rift within the Karnataka Congress surfaced on Friday, a day after the bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in the state, as a group of Muslim leaders alleged a "conspiracy" by some of their own senior party leaders to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
However, they asserted that despite efforts by some within to project that Congress "betrayed" Muslims, the party candidate Samarth Mallikarjun will win in Davanagere South, the constituency where the community has a significant presence.
They said the party finally named Samarth Mallikarjun as the candidate after considering all factors and taking all Muslim leaders into confidence. Despite this, a massive campaign, including from some within the party, projected the Congress as having "betrayed" the minorities by denying them tickets.
Chief Whip in the Legislative Council Saleem Ahmed, MLAs Rizwan Arshad, Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, MLC Bilkis Bano, and other Congress leaders addressed a joint press conference on Friday, claiming an "internal conspiracy".
According to party sources, these Muslim leaders have also complained to AICC and state party leadership, alleging "internal sabotage" in Davanagere South.
Though the leaders did not name anyone, several party sources said their attack was directed at State Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and Jabbar among others.
Khan, who had openly demanded the Davanagere South ticket for a Muslim candidate, initially stayed away from campaigning in the constituency, citing his Kerala poll responsibilities.
However, he addressed a press meet with Samarth's father and Minister SS Mallikarjun at the request of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Jabbar too had not actively participated in the campaigning, despite hailing from Davanagere.
Bypolls for Davanagere South were held along with Bagalkot on Thursday. The election was necessitated following the death of sitting MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti respectively. Samarth is the grandson of Shivashankarappa.
Muslim disgruntlement appears to be a concern for the Congress in Davanagere South. With 14 of the 25 candidates in the fray belonging to the community, there are apprehensions within the party about a split in votes, which could benefit the BJP.
Given its significant presence in the constituency, the Muslim community strongly demanded the Congress ticket for Davanagere South. Some party factions had opposed giving the ticket to the Shamanur family.
Although the Congress was successful in persuading rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan to withdraw from the contest, he remained in the fray as the move came after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
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