Congress leaders condemn Bharti’s arrest

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 27

The arrest of former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Neeraj Bharti in a sedition case has evoked a strong reaction from Congress leaders in Kangra.

They termed it political victimisation. Though many were not supportive of his offensive social media posts, they opposed the sedition charge against him.

GS Bali, former minister and senior Congress leader, said, “Neeraj Bharti is a former MLA, not a terrorist”.

He said the BJP had a wing which stigmatised people as anti-national if they uploaded any social media post against the government. If cases were filed against people for social media posts, lakhs would have been behind bars.

Bali said former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was targeted by the BJP social media wing and cases of sedition should also be registered against BJP workers.

Ajay Mahajan, district president of the Congress, said it was the BJP that encouraged social media attacks on opposition parties. Now that the BJP was facing the ire of people on social media, it was trying to muzzle the voice of dissent.

NURPUR: Youth Congress (YC) workers held a protest at Jawali on Saturday and raised slogans against the BJP, the Prime Minister and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

Later, they submitted a memorandum to the Governor through the SDM, demanding Bharti’s release. OC

In 4-day police remand

Congress leader and former Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Neeraj Bharti, who was arrested by the CID on Friday on the charge of sedition, has been remanded in police custody for four days. He was produced in a court on Saturday which sent him to the four-day police remand. A case under Sections 124(a), 153(a), 504 and 505 of the IPC was registered against him on June 20 for allegedly provoking people against the government and creating hatred.

BJP govt resorting to political vendetta, says Sukhu

• Former state Congress president and sitting MLA Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has termed Neeraj Bharti’s arrest murder of democracy
• In a statement issued here, Sukhu said the BJP regime was resorting to political victimisation. “Bharti’s arrest is not a result of enraging the sentiment, but a clear case of political witch hunt as the former MLA often took the BJP to task on the social media,” he said
• Sukhu said the CID had tormented Bharti for three days in the name of questioning and now he had been arrested. “I urge the CM to ensure his release or Congress workers will launch a statewide agitation,” he said