AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal is in the news for apologising to Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia after hurling every allegation under the sun regarding the latter’s alleged involvement in Punjab’s drug trade. Thanks to the allegation, a defamation case was filed against Kejriwal which resulted in the apology.
Earlier to this, Kejriwal had apologies to BJP MLA from UP Avtar Singh Bhadana, for wrongly accusing him of being one of the most corrupt persons in India.
Soon after the apology to Majithia, it was reported that Kejriwal was likely to apologise to Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari, to try and end the host of defamation cases filed against him. The number of these defamation cases is speculated to be between 11 to 20.
Now besides the distinguished personalities, common citizens too might feel that Kejriwal owes them an apology for any offence he may have caused them. As it might be slightly impractical for Kejriwal to apologise to each and every critic of his, a website “kejriwalapology.xyz” seeks to bridge the gap.
The Website offers a singular flagship service of what it refers to as, “Get Apology from Kejriwal!”. Navigating to the website, one is greeted with this simple form:
The form to get apology from Kejriwal
We decided for some reason that Kejriwal should offer an apology to popular Harry Potter character Albus Dumbledore and this is what came up:
The spoof apology
In the spoof apology typed under the letterhead of “Aam Aamdani Party”, Kejriwal is seen apologising to Albus Dumbledore by withdrawing all the statements and allegation made against him. He also regretted the hurt caused to Dumbledore’s family, friends, well-wishers etc.
The letter is signed as “Kejribawal” with Arvind Kejriwal getting described as the “owner of Delhi” as described by the Delhi CM himself once. This apology can also be directly shared on Facebook and Twitter to help you inform people regarding the same.
A basic search reveals that the apology portal was created yesterday by a Delhi resident named Harsha, who going by his act doesn’t seem to be too fond of Kejriwal.
On a related but fake note, Elton John who sang the famous song, “sorry seems to be the hardest word”, has reacted to Arvind Kejriwal saying sorry to everyone:
In what might be considered a major victory for the Hindu faith, the Modi government today conveyed its decision to the Supreme Court, to leave the Ram Setu untouched. The government via Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, informed that it would be considering alternative routes for the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project.
A copy of the affidavit was tweeted by Prabhati Mishra, LiveLaw’s Managing Editor:
The affidavit filed by the government. Via Prabhati Mishra
In the affidavit, Anant Saran, the Director of Ministry of Shipping informed the court about the erstwhile UPA government’s affidavits in 2013 conveying its decision to pursue the project’s implementation after listing out the “advantages”.
Now the stance has changed with the government unwilling to implement the said alignment. Thus the director informed that the Indian government intends to explore alternatives without affecting or damaging the Ram Setu in the nation’s interest.
Subramanian Swamy a petitioner in the matter took to twitter informing the public about him concluding his 20-year long case as a result of this affidavit:
Today SC was told by Govt Ram Setu will not be touched. I finally after 20 yrs have concluded my case listed Transfer WP No. 26&27 of 2006
The current issue dates back to about 2007 when the UPA-1 government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court to argue that Ram Setu which is believed to have been built by Lord Ram, lacked scientific veracity.
The heart of the matter is the proposed Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project, to be built off the coast of Rameshwaram in Tamilnadu. The project proposed building a shipping canal linking the Arabian Sea with the Bay of Bengal which traversed the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, and the Palk Straits. This canal though required the dredging of Ram Setu’s limestone shoals, which would have meant the destruction of the Setu.
Besides whipping up religious sentiments, the conduct of the UPA-1 government regarding this matter had also resulted in a political storm when it argued in the Supreme Court that there was no historical proof of Lord Ram.
This affidavit by the Shipping Ministry director comes in the backdrop of a Science Channel video clip which with the help of satellite data, claimed that the Ram Setu was man-made.
The story of Paul Henry Dean reads like a Hollywood crime movie. The one man has broken so many laws and has harmed so many victims in his life that it is a wonder how is he still free. The crimes Paul Henry Dean committed are beyond horrific, worse than despicable. This is a story filled with brazen disregard for any law, emotion and conscience. What is worse is that Paul might have been successful again. He was recently convicted by a railway court in Visakhapatnam and was granted bail the same day.
Paul used fake identities. He worked with Catholic Charity Organisations and identified himself initially as an Australian professor, then as a doctor, sometimes even as a priest. Over his long years of disguised life in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, Paul reportedly abused orphan, impoverished young boys, many of them disabled.
Paul Henry Dean lived in Bunbury, Australia until 1976. He suddenly fled the country with 100,000 Dollars from the travel company he chaired and his colleagues and friends found no trace of him. He was believed to have fled to Indonesia or UK. He had used a fake passport.
Paul’s story was put together first by ABC News correspondent Sally Sara in 2009. She traced Paul’s arrival and subsequent movements in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. What she unearthed was a chilling tale of fraud, fake identities, botched up surgeries and sexual abuse of young boys that transpired since and there were no consequences for the perpetrator.
Paul lived in Catholic charity organisations in the two states. He identified himself as Alan Rose or ‘Brother Alan’ and claimed he was an Australian professor. He watched the local doctors and soon started copying their work. Incredible as it may sound, ‘Brother Alan’ was soon performing surgeries. None of the Catholic organisations he represented bothered to check his qualifications and eligibility apparently. He even performed cataract surgeries and carried out amputations. Human life is that cheap in India.
Paul’s acts of sexual abuse first came to light when he stayed in Titilagarh, Odisha in the early 1980s. A small town that is a major Railway Junction and 6 hours away from Visakhapatnam. Paul, masquerading as a doctor, took upon him ‘helping’ young, poor boys who were paramedical trainees. The boys were all poor and many were orphans. One of the victims, Anil Kumar, a hearing and speech impaired boy, used crude sign language to express he was being sexually abused by Paul. But the charity organisation took no action and Anil hanged himself in 1985. Paul was sent back to Visakhapatnam after that.
Paul has been shielded and protected by the charity organisations he was associated with repeatedly. The people of these organisations have even referred to him as ‘a walking god’. He even used to hold mass and give sermons.
In 2001, Paul was again arrested on charges of sexual abuse and passport fraud. He was sexually abusing blind and speech/hearing impaired children in the orphanage run by The New Hope Organisation. But he soon got bail and the cases did not go to trial till 2008.
Paul, who was often called ‘tatha’ or grandfather by the inmates of the orphanages, went to work in the Mary Ellen Gerber foundation in Puri, Odisha in the 2000s. In 2008, Mary Ellen, the Frech owner of the organisation, complained to police there that Paul has been sexually abusing young boys in the MEG village there. The case is yet to be tried and still pending with Odisha police.
Photo courtesy: The News Minute
According to reports, Paul told news reporters after his 2001 arrest that no court in India can send him to jail. Sadly, his prophecy has been true so far. In the 2001 case that has dragged on for 17 years now, only eight of the 12 victims came forward to give statements to the court. Over the years, only one of the initial eight stood by his testimony that he was sexually abused by Paul. That is no surprise, given that his victims belong to the lowest, weakest sections of society. Disabled, often orphans who were left at the mercy of charity organisations. The same organisations which have not only sheltered Paul after repeated allegations surfaced but also have let him travel freely across India and play doctor and preacher and whatnot.
The case against Paul has been dragged from one court to another for 17 years. A total of 33 witnesses have been examined. Many of his victims have turned either hostile or uninterested. The only people who have donated huge sums of money to the charity homes were reportedly the ones who wanted the case to be finalised soon and even many documents have gone missing over the years. One of the local lawyers said that Paul was also arrested in Visakhapatnam in 2011. He again got bail immediately and went to Odisha. He was back in Visakhapatnam again after committing similar crimes in Muniguda area.
It was a Railway court in Visakhapatnam that convicted Paul Dean recently. He was sentenced to 3 years of simple imprisonment under Sections 377, 292 (2) (A) of IPC, Section 12 of the Passport Act 1967, Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and slapped a fine of Rs 32,000. His conviction on the charges of sexual crimes came after the sole standing victim, a visually impaired David persisted throughout the long trial and never turned hostile.
Paul’s conviction was itself a mockery of the system and judiciary of the country. Paul pleaded mercy and requested for minimum punishment. Even though the punishment under section 377 is 10 years, Paul was only given 3 years of non-rigorous imprisonment. Hoodwinking the system is something Paul has been doing for 40 years now. He got bail by the Andhra Pradesh High Court on the same day. The sentences will run concurrently and as usual, Paul Henry Dean is a free man.
The sordid tale of this sexual predator who preyed upon the most helpless, defenceless victims who could not see, hear and speak what was being done to them brings out the gaping holes in our system.
Paul has been living without a genuine Visa and Passport for 40 years in India
Despite being an Australian national, he has been travelling all over the country without valid documents.
He has been treating patients and performing surgeries without even the basic qualification.
There is no statistics, no way of finding out how many surgeries he has performed and how many lives he had ruined.
Despite having several allegations against him, he has continued to work closely with vulnerable children. The case was registered in 2001, the case in Odisha was registered in 2008 but this sexual predator has never been ‘red flagged’. Is there no mechanism in our law enforcement and social welfare that stops possible offenders from having unrestricted access to new potential victims?
He has been associated with prominent Catholic organisations over the years. Despite repeat allegations, how come the organisations who sheltered, employed and defended a sexual predator are still evading scrutiny?
According to reports, the government of Australia has requested the Indian government to investigate Paul if he was the same man who held the Passport of Alan Herbert Rose. Why have the Indian authorities have not taken action on him?
His victims were mostly disabled and orphans. Do we not have any system in place that verifies people who are associated with the helpless children? There is no telling how many lives Paul has ruined. The fact that Paul remained in India and continued his despicable acts is a testimony to how police, the judiciary and the authorities have all failed. The fact that he remains free without facing consequences for his crimes proves there is no justice whatsoever.
The Modi government ever since its election in May 2014 has been a thorn in the secular foot. And why wouldn’t it be? It focuses on development, shuns minority appeasement, and the Prime Minister is unabashed in his Hindu, Dharmic identity. He feels no need to sacrifice his personal religious beliefs, to pander to a vote bank. He refuses to wear a ‘topi’ but fights to abolish Triple Talaq. By all measures, Modi doesn’t fit the political bubble all the other politicians are so comfortable in. Or used to be.
So now, after the Gorakhpur and Phulur bypolls have concluded in a loss for the BJP, the opposition is dreaming about getting rid of the “pesky little thorn”, Narendra Modi, once and for all.
After the Gorakhpur and Phulur bypolls, the BJP’s tally in the Lok Sabha is 274 according to the Lok Sabha website. Which is above the majority mark of 272. It must be clarified, that essentially, BJP has 275 MPs, but since Speaker of LS, Sumitra Mahajan doesn’t vote, the effective strength becomes 274. Out of these, 2 are nominated, but they have the voting rights in case of a no-confidence motion.
While BJP on its own is above the majority mark, Congress has still gone ahead and expressed their support to the no-confidence motion against the Modi government to be moved by TDP and YSR Congress Party.
Congress to support no-confidence motion against the Centre by Telugu Desam Party & YSR Congress Party: Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee President N Raghuveera Reddy pic.twitter.com/dx1AHiVD4o
In fact, TDP MP Thota Narasimhan to Lok Sabha Secretary-General has given a letter for moving motion on ‘No-Confidence in the Council of Ministers’ in the House.
Image credit: ANI
One wonders while BJP is still above the majority mark, how has the opposition moved a no-confidence motion.
Is the opposition depending on Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad to vote against the BJP government in the floor of the parliament? Shotgun has been dilly-dallying for the longest time, toeing the opposition line and criticising the Modi government endlessly and sometimes, needlessly. And Kirti Azad has made his issues with Arun Jaitley extremely public.
But assuming Kirti Azad and Shatrughan Sinha vote against the BJP in a no-confidence motion is moved, the BJP would still be at 272, which is dot on the majority mark.
Is it too far-fetched to wonder that while people thought Shatrughan Sinha’s constant whining and cosying up to the opposition was a betrayal to the party, his last act of political betrayal would be becoming instrumental in the opposition’s attempt to get rid of the Modi government months before 2019 general elections? And lastly, the most important question: Is there someone else who is ready to betray the BJP and essentially, the country’s mandate? Or is the Congress building castles in the air and needlessly posturing considering they have managed to bag 2 seats and they want the world to know – we can be back.
However, with the facts at hand, it does appear empty posturing by the Congress party and its allies. Akali Dal is clearly not going to vote against BJP. Let us assume BJP gets the third rebel apart from Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad. What they would essentially do then, is make all three rebels lose their Lok Sabha seat by getting them to violate the whip, this is assuming there is a third rebel and Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad are willing to lose their LS seat. That too might be far-fetched. If the two were willing to let go of their seat, one has to wonder why they didn’t resign earlier and stick around for so long despite being unhappy.
Congress seems to believe in the “hum to doobenge, tumhe bhi le doobenge sanam” strategy, the question thus remains, have they found three foolish politicians to go down with them?
The Congress might be heading towards serious trouble in the state of Odisha after a section of the state’s legislators have threatened to quit the party over differences with their state party chief.
As per an Indian Express report, a section of the party has openly asserted that they would rather quit than serve under the leadership of the current state party chief Prasad Harichandan. As per the report, some leaders have conveyed that they would express their dissatisfaction of the party chief with the party’s national leadership during the All India Congress Committee (AICC), which starts on March 16th.
Jogesh Singh, the party’s MLA from Sundergarh, has made his views crystal clear by asserting that Harichandan’s leadership “isn’t right”. As per him, Congress isn’t gaining organisational strength and that he would not fight the election under the current state chief’s leadership. He also threatened to change his political party after consulting with his voters.
Another MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati echoed a similar sentiment by claiming that his mind is telling him not to fight elections under Harichandan. Currently, the party has a total of 16 MLAs in the state.
Such a saga in Odisha Congress began in about a week back, when the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC)’s disciplinary committee chairperson, announced that the party’s state leadership won’t see any change till 2019. She further claimed that only party president Rahul Gandhi had a right to take a decision over the state party chief’s position.
This was objected to by the senior leader Sarat Rout who questioned why the AICC wasn’t speaking to other state leaders regarding the matter.
The issue has kept simmering since then and as per local reports, various MLA’s congregated at opposition party leader Narasingha Mishra’s house to formulate strategies for ousting Harichandan as party chief.
The animosity against Harichandan seems to have grown since the party lost its deposit in the state’s Bijepur bypoll in February. The party had earlier won the seat three consecutive times.
This possible setback in Odisha might compound problems for the party, which recently suffered a humiliating defeat in Gorakhpur and Phulpur by-bolls, by losing deposits in both the seats.
The Congress incidentally also had to deal with a mutiny in Bihar, after its former state chief Ashok Choudhary was allegedly involved in engineering a rebellion. He was later sacked from his post by the central leadership.
This wasn’t the end of the drama and later two party factions with one being Ashok Choudhary’s followers were involved in a fight, with one group chanting Narendra Modi Zindabad. The trouble in the state continues till date, with four suspended Bihar Congress leaders joining the JD(U) this February.
Bihar Police has arrested two men, Sultan Aazmi and Shehjad in connection with the viral video which has people raising pro-Pakistan slogans in Araria after the bypoll results were declared.
#Bihar: 2 men, named Sultan Aazmi & Shehjad, arrested over viral video from #Araria, that showed people raising anti-India slogans.
While OpIndia could not independently verify the authenticity of the video, Times Now has reported that the police has confirmed the video in circulation is not a fake video.
Moments after BJP loss in Araria, Bihar, locals were caught raising anti-India slogans. Ground report by Shyam pic.twitter.com/uizpqIL10J
Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday had said that Araria will become a “hub of terrorism”. He added that Araria is not just a border district, connected to Bengal and Nepal, it is also moving towards a hardline ideology. He said this is not just dangerous for Bihar but for the entire country.
Shashi Tharoor is a classic example of Indian liberal who fails to admit the deficiencies of ‘secularism’ as practised by political parties which are opposed to ‘communalism’. In an article titled‘Secularism is just a word, but opposition will resist BJP bid to drop it from Constitution’, Shashi Tharoor explores constituent assembly debates about secularism. While admitting that the nature of the constitution doesn’t change without the word, he fears that its removal will adversely impact pluralism and religious freedom in India.
While arguing the matter, Tharoor inadvertently admits that the aspects of ‘secularism’ that irritate the Hindus of India. He writes (emphasis added) :
Under the Indian version of secularism, the government’s financial largesse is extended to the Muslim waqf boards, Buddhist monasteries, and certain Christian religious institutions; and under a 1951 religious and charitable endowment law, state governments are empowered to take over, own and operate Hindu temples, collect revenue from offerings, and redistribute that revenue towards such purposes as it deems fit, including any non-temple-related ones.
The Hindutva brigade does not like this, and it is determined to do away with it as a significant step towards its project of transforming India into a Hindu state, or at least a state with a distinctively Hindu identity. To hear their point of view is to take in a host of factors — the uncritical acceptance by the Indian establishment of regressive practices among the Muslim community while demanding progressive behaviour from Hindus, the support for minority education while denying such aid to Hindus, the promotion of ‘family planning’ among Hindus but not among Muslims, the cultivation of ‘vote banks’ led by conservative Muslim leaders but the disparagement of their Hindu equivalents, and so on.
If the state is truly secular why would it want to take away the revenues of Hindu temples and redistribute it for other purposes? In fact, the state should withdraw from controlling temple affairs entirely. Secondly, he indirectly highlights his party’s failure to weed out regressive practices in Islam which include triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy. He also fails to admit that lack of family planning among Muslims is one of the key reasons for their poverty. Instead of highlighting the problems and solving them he goes on to say that Muslims are under-represented in police forces and over-represented in prisons. He writes (emphasis added)
The result is a widespread denunciation of the “appeasement” of Muslims, which seems bizarre when one looks at the statistical evidence of Muslim socio-economic backwardness and the prevalence of discrimination in such areas as housing and employment. Muslims are under-represented in the nation’s police forces and over-represented in its prisons. Yet Hindutva leaders have successfully stoked a perception that government benefits are skewed towards minorities, and thus justified their campaign for Hindu self-assertiveness.
The reason for this situation is again, highlighted by Tharoor in his own article. Instead of bringing Muslims to the mainstream by providing good schools which teach Math, Science, English and prepare them for jobs, secular politicians funded Madrassas.
The Indian system has created incentives for various religious denominations to start and operate ‘minority schools’ and colleges with substantial government funding, impart religious education, and be exempt from various regulations and stipulations the Indian government imposes on non-minority institutions. (Indeed, while government schools and colleges may not impart religious instruction, religious sects and charities affiliated to minority communities may open their own schools and receive state financial assistance even as they impart religious indoctrination).
Providing religious education does not lead the Muslim youth towards jobs in police forces or industry. If the secular politicians had the interests of the community in their mind they would have spent money on improving government schools. Now, when the fallacy has been pointed out ‘secular brigade’ hides behind intolerance and secularism.
Tharoor’s version of secularism not only discriminates between Hindus and Muslims but also between goats and bulls. Jallikattu is somehow cruel, Bakrid is not. Though unrelated to his article this example demonstrates the thought process of India’s secular bandwagon.
Goats v/s Bulls
This kind of double standards is a part and parcel of ‘secular’ discourse. His article turns out to be an exercise in defending the worst aspects of secularism that has found root in Indian establishment. The need of the hour is to correct the mistakes of ‘secularists’ in Indian politics. The corrections required do not require any constitutional amendment but a change in the implementation of its provisions at the ground level.
In a shocking incident, a minor girl was allegedly abducted and raped inside a place of worship for a ‘particular community’ in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh. After a week-long search, the accused Mohammad Shadan has been arrested. Shadan is a resident of Shahjahanpur.
As per reports, on 8th March, late in the evening, the accused allegedly lured the child towards the place of worship where he raped her. The girl escaped and people gathered to catch the culprit, who had by then ran away. This led to communal tension in the town and additional police force from nearby cities was called on.
A week later, yesterday, the police were finally able to nab the culprit. During talks with the reporters, police said that since the culprit was of a ‘particular community’, extra police forces were called in.
A case under POSCO has been registered against Mohammad Shadan.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, in an interview with Bloomberg Quint, had said that unlike the Congress, leaders of the BJP were much rooted in Indian culture. That became obvious when the official Twitter handle of the Karnataka unit of the Congress Party mocked BS Yeddyurappa for bowing down to Yogi Adityanath when the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh visited the southern state for his party’s election campaign.
Mr. Yeddyurappa, at-least now, show some self respect, and stop bowing to an outsider who can’t even win his own seat!
Anyone remotely aware of Indian traditions will know that it is in the ethos of India to bow down before a saffron-clad Sadhu or Sanyasi to offer respect. Yogi Adityanath is not merely a politician, he is the Mahant of Gorakhnath Math, a Temple that occupies a special place in the hearts of Hindus across the county. Karnataka Congress’ tweet only goes on to show their utter contempt for anything Hindu and their ineptitude towards respecting Hindu ideals. The Congress’ knowledge and respect for Hindu traditions are limited to aspects of it that can fetch them votes and help win elections.
When BS Yeddyurappa bowed before Yogi Adityanath, he did not bow before a politician, he bowed before a religious leader of the Hindu community. If the Congress Party is under the impression that the Warrior Priest will cease to command respect from Hindus merely because he is a politician, then they will be well advised to come out of their caves.
The Congress Party, of course, is not alien to insulting Hinduism. They are, after all, the party which tried to create the myth of Hindu Terror. And their President, Rahul Gandhi, had once said that Hindu Terror was more of a threat to India than Islamic terrorist groups. But it seems now that the party, by describing Yogi Adityanath as an outsider, has decided to openly divide Indians along regional lines. Earlier, Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah had tried to fan linguistic chauvinism by pledging to fight against ‘Hindi imposition’ by the Central government.
The Congress’ relationship with Hinduism has long been a complicated one. From the very beginning, the Congress party has oscillated between a complete disregard for Hindu interests in its pursuit of minority appeasement secularism to Temple visiting sprees to ensure electoral victories. Recently, the Congress has been trying to create fissures within the Lingayat community and fuel demands of a separate minority religion tag for the sect to ensure its return to power in the Assembly elections this year.
The official handle of the BJP’s state unit in Karnataka, which has taken Twitter by storm recently, has again tweeted a strong reply to the Karnataka Congress’ tweet mocking BS Yeddyurappa.
The first step in becoming a Congressi is to submit one’s spine & intellect at the threshold of 10 JP.
It’s just amazing that the party which elected a serial election loser as their President is lecturing us not to bow down to a Sadhu just because of ONE LS bye election loss! https://t.co/wDjUCvj67S
Hindus on Twitter weren’t too pleased either with the disrespect for Hindu traditions meted out by Karnataka Congress.
Look who’s speaking! A party where everyone not only bows to the outsider of Italy, but also embraces the slavery of her buffoon son! Why a habitual offender of Hindu sentiments, Siddaramaiah, is so afraid of Yogi Adityanath who couldn’t even save his own seat? https://t.co/GmViQiNHAI
Some pointed out the lack of Hindu ‘sanskar’ within the Congress party.
Yogi Adityanath is head of a Hindu religious denomination with millions of followers. Congress never had any Hindu sanskars so can’t understand why a Hindu bows to saffron clad saints. After all Indira Gandhi got fire opened upon Hindu Saints demanding cow protection measures. https://t.co/i3Q3W4aUIr
Others demanded that the Gandhis visit Gorakhnath Math and seek blessings from its Mahant to prove that they are Hindus after the fiasco by Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat which has raised serious speculation regarding his faith.
Congress people says that Nehru Gandhi’s always go to the temples and are true Hindus. I will believe them only when they will go to Gorakhpur and ask for blessing of Mahanta Adityanath! https://t.co/awCCf8Ia5m
By mocking BS Yeddyurappa for bowing to the Mahant of Gorakhnath Math, the Congress Party has once again revealed that it has no respect for the culture and traditions of the people it seeks to govern. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party would do well to remember that to govern a country effectively, respect and understanding of the culture of its people are of paramount importance.
AAP supremo and Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has now issued an apology to Shiromani Akali Dal’s General Secretary Bikram Majithia, for wrongfully defaming him. As per an apology letter shared by Delhi MLA Majinder S Sirsa, Kejriwal has issued the apology for wrongly alleging that Majithia was involved in Punjab’s drug trade.
Majithia who used to be the revenue minister of Punjab, had filed a defamation case in 2016, against AAP leaders like Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh and Ashish Khetan who had targeted him regarding the state’s drug issue. As a result of which, charges under section 500, 501 and 34 pertaining to defamation were filed against the said leaders. The hearing of the defamation had also seen Kejriwal having to appear in the court.
The attack by Kejriwal was so brazen that reports had quoted him as vowing to drag Majithia (by the collar) to jail for his alleged involvement the “multi-million rupee drug racket”.
Things though didn’t turn out the way Kejriwal wanted and he has now come up with this apology:
Letter of Apology by Kejriwal
As seen in the letter undersigned by Arvind Kejriwal, and written on an Aam Aadmi Party letterhead dated 15th March, the AAP supremo is seen retracting allegations against Majithia and offering regret.
In the letter’s body, Kejriwal is seen recalling the allegations he made regarding the Akali leader the latter’s involvement in Punjab’s drug trade, which escalated into a political issue. Kejriwal then mentioned the defamation case filed as a result of these allegations made in print, electronic and social media platforms.
The Delhi CM then claimed that he has now learnt that the allegations are unfounded. He thus proceeded to withdraw all allegations and statements made against Majithia and also tendered an apology.
Finally Kejriwal “regretted” the damage caused to Majithia’s esteem, and the hurt caused to the family and followers of the Akali leader.
Incidentally this isn’t the only time Kejriwal has chosen to take an apology route to wiggle out of a defamation case filed against him. We had reported last August how Kejriwal, who back then had at least 11 defamation suits against him, had chosen to apologise to try and end one of them.
That case in question was filed by a BJP MLA from UP Avtar Singh Bhadana, for a statement Kejriwal had made in 2014 accusing Bhadana of being one of the most corrupt persons in India.
