BJP candidate from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi got bail from a local court on Monday in two cases relating to his provocative speeches targeting minorities.
BJP candidate from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi got bail from a local court on Monday in two cases relating to his provocative speeches targeting minorities.
The Pilibhit chief judicial magistrate also dismissed a case registered against Varun under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code charging him with attempt to murder.
However, Gandhi will languish in jail for the time being because of the National Security Act (NSA) invoked against him by the Mayawati government on Sunday.
Varun’s lawyers told reporters that the court had granted him bail on technical grounds rather than on merit. The law provides for bail to any offender charged under laws which prescribe a maximum of three years’ imprisonment. Varun managed to get bail on this basis.
But since NSA provides a period of three weeks for the state government to put up its case before an advisory board of the high court, the BJP leader will have to spend some more time in jail.
The good news for him though is that legal experts think the case will not stand in a court of law. “This is an extreme step which seems unwarranted in this case,” senior high court advocate IB Singh said. “It will be difficult for the state government to convince the advisory board,” he said. “If the NSA is used so rashly, hundreds of people will be put behind bars everyday,” the lawyer said.
The NSA case is being viewed as the Mayawati government’s attempt to deflect criticism for going easy on Varun and trying to help the BJP. Mayawati would also be concerned about the immense popularity of the young BJP leader as it could upset her electoral calculations.
Varun’s mother and BJP MP Maneka Gandhi said on Monday, “This is a clear misuse of a serious law. This is dangerous for the country.”
BJP state president Ramapati Ram Tripathi met governor TV Rajeshwar in Lucknow and urged him to intervene in the matter. “The state government has invoked NSA because of petty politics...this is murder of democracy,” he said. The BJP observed a black day on Monday. Party workers wore black bands across Uttar Pradesh to protest the government action.
BJP’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani said during his election campaign in Jharkhand, “He has been booked under NSA for political reasons...it’s a conspiracy and nothing else.”
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