New Delhi:
Aam Aadmi Party’s senior leaders including Ashutosh and Kumar Vishwas on Wednesday compared Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar’s surprise arrest with Emergency-like situation in Delhi.
The Delhi Law Minister was on Tuesday sent to four-day police custody for allegedly falsifying his educational degrees. In the evening, he also resigned from his post.
But is the complete incident about fake degree or political decree? And, is the AAP right in claiming political vendetta or police have a legitimate case?
Whatever, Wednesday saw Tomar being taken to Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh by Delhi Police for questioning in the fake degree case.
However, he maintained that his degree is ‘genuine’ and the allegations false while accusing the Centre of a “conspiracy”.
“My degree is absolutely genuine. It is a conspiracy by BJP and the central government. Yes, They are not letting AAP government work,” he told reporters this morning at the railway station in Lucknow from where he was being taken to Faizabad by road.
Timeline of incidents
An FIR accusing Tomar under various charges of IPC including those related to cheating and criminal conspiracy was registered on Monday night in Hauz Khas Police Station.
The Law Minister was arrested by nearly 30-40 policemen while he was interacting with a group of people in his office in Trinagar.
Earlier, police said that they were taking him away on the pretext of getting some documents but later drove him to the Hauz Khas police station.
Inside the court, Delhi Police claimed that Tomar’s certificates were fabricated and not genuine.
The investigating officer (IO) told the court that action was taken on the basis of a complaint given by Bar Council of Delhi (BCD).
He informed that the preliminary reports from concerned universities show that the degrees are fake.
When the court asked the Delhi Police, "You (police) have served the notice on Tuesday. What was the need to arrest him on Tuesday itself?"
Delhi Police replied, "He has the power to fabricate documents within minutes."
Calling the arrest unconstitutional, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, “It was an attempt by the Modi government to teach AAP a lesson. Attempts are being made to create an Emergency-like situation in Delhi through dictatorship as we have come down hard on those involved in corruption. Why Delhi police is treating Tomar like a "mafia”?”
Meanwhile, BJP also responded to AAP’s accusations of political vendetta.
Union Minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Kejriwal has got a decisive mandate. He should work. Mr Kejriwal, governance is a serious business. Please govern. He should respect the law. Instead, he is picking up fights with everyone, be it within his party, with his officers, with BJP leaders and now with Prime Minister Narendra Modi."
The Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) Chairman KK Manan, however, claimed that there is no political vendetta behind accusation.
“Tomar's law degrees were forged and they had given a complaint to Delhi Police on 11 May in this regard and the police, after taking cognisance of it, lodged an FIR and arrested the minister this morning. Instead of shunting out this person, the chief minister and the party are creating 'halla gulla' (ruckus). Why the CM has not got Tomar's claim verified, he has all the infrastructure to get it done," Manan said, adding that "there is no political vendetta in this (behind Tomar's arrest),” BCD Chairman was heard stating.
