I am BJP's item girl, says Azam Khan
Lucknow/Badaun, Oct 24: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan Wednesday said the ruling BJP invoked his name whenever elections are near, treating him like an item girl .
He was reacting to the registration Tuesday of the second FIR against him in a week, this time on a complaint by a pro-Ambedkar group for allegedly making defamatory remarks against the Dalit icon two years ago.
On October 17, Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh had filed an FIR against the controversial SP leader for allegedly threatening his daughters with acid attack.
"I am the item girl of the BJP, Azam Khan reacted, indirectly suggesting that his name helped the Bharatiya Janata Party attract voters.
They contest all the elections on my name. The last assembly election was fought on my name and the same is the case with the coming Lok Sabha elections," he added.
The present state of affairs is such that I do not remember how many cases have been filed against me and where, he told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Badaun.
I keep getting summons and warrants," he said.
In Lucknow, the BJP slammed Azam Khan over the indecent" item girl remark.
"Azam Khan has become mentally deranged. The days of politics of vote bank, appeasement and corruption, which he had been indulging in, are over," Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Chandra Mohan said
"The indecent words which he has used only indicate his thought process. This is the thought process of the Samajwadi Party and people who are associated with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav," he added.
The latest FIR was registered on a complaint by Ambedkar Mahasabha general secretary Amarnath Prajapati at Lucknow's Hazratganj police station.
Prajapati alleged that during the inauguration of the Haj House in Ghaziabad in 2016 Khan made an objectionable statement against B R Ambedkar, terming him someone who "grabs land".
"All over the state, there are statues of a person whose finger seems to say that it owns not only the plot in which it stands but also the plot towards which it is pointing," the SP leader allegedly said.
A week earlier, Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh lodged an FIR against Khan at the Gomti Nagar police station for allegedly threatening him and his 17-year-old twins during a television interview.
At an event organised by a Muslim organisation in Badaun, Khan urged bringing the Dalits, the backwards and the deprived together to defeat communal forces.
He mocked the BJP over the Ram temple issue, saying it should ignore the opposition and go ahead with the construction.
Do whatever you want but don't misguide the country," he said.
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BCI urges CJI to take action against Andhra HC judge for sending young lawyer to 24-hour custody
New Delhi (PTI): The Bar Council of India on Wednesday sought the urgent intervention of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant following a "deeply disturbing" incident where a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court reportedly sent a young advocate to
24-hour judicial custody over a procedural lapse.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairperson and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, in a formal representation, termed the conduct of Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao "grossly inappropriate" and "damaging to the confidence of the Bar".
“I most respectfully request your Lordship to kindly take immediate institutional cognizance of the matter and call for the video recording of the proceedings, the order passed, and the surrounding circumstances.
“I further request that appropriate administrative action may kindly be considered, including withdrawal of judicial work from the learned Judge pending review, his immediate transfer to some far off High Court, and his nomination for appropriate judicial training/orientation on court management, judicial temperament, Bar-Bench relations, and proportional exercise of contempt/judicial authority,” Mishra wrote.
This representation is made to preserve the “dignity, moral authority and public confidence of the judiciary”, he said, adding, “Judges command the highest respect not by fear, but by fairness, patience, restraint and constitutional humility”.
The communication urged the CJI to intervene at the earliest to ensure that the faith of Bar, particularly young advocates, in the protective and corrective role of the judiciary is restored.
The controversy stems from proceedings on May 5.
According to the BCI, a video circulating online shows Justice Rao rebuking a young advocate who was unable to produce a specific order copy during a hearing.
The letter said that despite the advocate "repeatedly seeking pardon and mercy" and claiming he was in physical pain, the judge remained "unmoved".
The judge allegedly told the lawyer, "now you will learn," and mocked his experience before directing the Registrar and police personnel to take him into custody for 24 hours.
The BCI chairperson said that the judge’s actions lacked proportionality and fairness.
"The dignity of the court is not enhanced when a lawyer is made to beg for grace in open court and is still sent to custody for a procedural lapse," the letter said.
"A young lawyer... is an officer of the Court, still learning, still growing, and entitled to correction without humiliation," it added.
The bar body said that such actions create a "chilling effect" on the legal fraternity, particularly among junior members, and undermine the mutual respect required between the Bench and the Bar.
