'Toolkit' case: BJP's Sambit Patra skips appearance before C'garh cops, cites personal reasons
Raipur: BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra on Sunday did not appear in person or online as directed before Raipur police in Chhattisgarh in connection with an FIR registered against him and senior colleague Raman Singh over an alleged fake toolkit, officials said.
Patra, who was asked to appear at 4 pm on Sunday before personnel from Civil Lines police station, where the FIR is registered, exempted himself citing personal reasons, they added.
The FIR was registered against Raman Singh, BJP vice president and former chief minister of Chhattisgarh, Patra, and others in Raipur on May 19 under the charges of spreading fake news and promoting enmity between classes in the alleged toolkit row.
The case was filed at the Civil Lines police station following a complaint lodged by Akash Sharma, president of the National Students' Union of India's (NSUI) Chhattisgarh unit who alleged that Singh, Patra and others had circulated a fake "toolkit" using the letterhead of the Congress.
Patra did not appear before police investigators. As per his advocate, Patra was busy in some personal engagements and sought one week to appear before police, said Civil Lines station house officer R K Mishra.
A similar notice has been served on Singh asking him to remain present in his residence at 12:30 pm on Monday for the recording of the statement in connection with the case, the Civil Lines police official added.
In the notice, Civil Lines police said that Patra is a suspect in the case of the alleged toolkit. Therefore, it has been directed to him to appear either in person or through a video conference on May 23 at 4 pm for the investigation of the case. Not complying with the notice is going to attract legal action, the officer had said.
Twitter recently labelled as "manipulated media" a tweet of Patra on the alleged toolkit prepared by Congress to target the Narendra Modi government.
The Congress had on Thursday written to Twitter asking it to permanently suspend the accounts of BJP president J P Nadda, Union minister Smriti Irani, Patra and other BJP leaders for allegedly "spreading misinformation and unrest in the society".
The Congress had said the toolkit documents flagged by the BJP are "fake" and has filed a police complaint against its leaders.
The BJP has been attacking Congress over some controversial content of the so-called 'Covid' toolkit.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
