'It's wrong': AAP after HC's refusal to stay Rahul's conviction in defamation case
New Delhi, Jul 7: The AAP on Friday came out in support of Rahul Gandhi and accused the BJP of indulging in "unproductive politics" to divert people's attention from real issues, after the Gujarat High Court dismissed Congress leader's plea seeking stay on his conviction in a defamation case.
While dismissing Gandhi's plea, the court on Friday noted that he is already facing 10 cases across India, adding the order of the lower court was "just, proper and legal" in convicting him. It also noted that there is no reasonable ground to stay Gandhi's conviction in the 2019 criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.
Asked about the court's decision, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar told reporters that it was certainly wrong and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also called it "wrong" when Gandhi was convicted in the case.
On March 23, a metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat had sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in the case filed by BJP Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi.
Asked if the AAP stands in support of Gandhi on the issue, Kakkar said, "Yes. It is certainly wrong, the punishment (given to Gandhi) is too harsh. We said this earlier also. Arvind Kejriwal ji also said so."
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also remarked 'worth Rs 50 crore girlfriend' which can hurt all the women," she alleged.
"The country is being engaged in unproductive politics to divert public attention from the real issue. Such politics should stop," Kakkar said.
The AAP spokesperson said Gandhi will now have to approach the Supreme Court seeking relief.
After the Gandhi's conviction in the defamation case by the trial court in Gujarat, Kejriwal had openly come out in support of the Congress leader.
"A conspiracy is being hatched to eliminate non-BJP leaders and parties by prosecuting them. We have differences with the Congress, but it is not right to implicate Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case like this," Kejriwal had said in a tweet on March 23.
"It is the job of the public and the opposition to ask questions. We respect the court but disagree with its decision," AAP national convenor had also said.
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Explosion near CRPF School in Delhi caused by lit cigarette butts: Report
New Delhi: The investigation team that probed the explosion that took place outside the CRPF School in the Prashant Vihar area of the city on October 20 morning has reportedly not found any terror force behind the blast.
The investigation team, consisting of Delhi Police and staff members from central agencies, has stated in its report that cigarette butts thrown by a local resident might have come in contact with industrial waste and have caused the explosion. Circumstantial evidence does not show the incident to have a terror angle to it, reports The Indian Express.
The Delhi Police, the city bomb squad and the fire brigade had rushed to the spot following the explosion, which was initially believed to have been caused by a crude bomb. The forensic experts who inspected the spot hinted at the presence of potassium chlorate, hydrogen peroxide and some electrical wires there. The school wall had been damaged and the windows of a car nearby had shattered in the explosion.
The investigation team scanned the CCTV camera footage and zeroed in on around 10 people questioned. A senior police officer said that a North Delhi-based businessman from Prashant Vihar was found to be present at the spot around five minutes before the explosion, as he had come there on Sunday morning to walk his dog. The CCTV footage showed him smoking and, after questioning him, the team concluded that he had left lit cigarette butts before leaving the spot, the officer added.
The spot where the explosion took place is learned to have been usually used for dumping garbage and also has a public urinal.
An officer has said that the Delhi Police had consulted forensic and technical experts of the National Security Guard regarding the things found on the explosion site but are yet to get the report. The officer added that they have found no detonator so far.
