Two days after a video surfaced purportedly showing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan using abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Red Fort during an event last month, the Delhi police on Thursday filed a case on the basis of a complaint by a lawyer.
“We have registered an FIR in respect of non-cognisable offence under IPC Section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) on the basis of a complaint,” a senior police official said, adding the police is also examining a video.
However, the legislator has not been named in the FIR which was registered at north Delhi’s Kotwali police station on the basis of a complaint by advocate Vivek Garg, who had earlier lodged several complaints against the city government with Delhi’s anti-corruption branch.
On Wednesday, the Delhi unit of the BJP had filed a complaint with the police against Mr Khan, accusing him of using “abusive language” against Mr Modi on February 16 and demanded action against him. A delegation of BJP leaders, including party’s Delhi chief Satish Upadhyay, met commissioner of police Alok Verma and submitted a copy of the video it claimed to have obtained from social media.
Mr Upadhyay claimed that the Okhla MLA had made the remarks at an event organised by the Delhi government’s Urdu Academy last month. An AAP spokesperson questioned the veracity of the video. However, Mr Khan has defended his alleged remarks, saying that he was merely criticising the “anti-dalit” and “anti-minority” policies of the BJP-led government at the Centre.
“What wrong did I say I just said that the Modi government is against dalits. I spoke against the policies of the government considering the way it is suppressing the rights and freedom of dalits, minorities and students and sending them to jail after framing them in false cases,” Mr Khan said.
