Aam Aadmi Party Gujarat chief Gopal Italia was on Thursday briefly detained by the Delhi Police from the National Commission for Women office, reported The Indian Express. He was released around 5.15 pm.
Italia appeared before the commission after it summoned him for allegedly making derogatory comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video.
An official of the women’s body told PTI that while Italia’s hearing was in progress, Aam Aadmi Party supporters, who were protesting outside, tried to enter the office. So, the police had to be called to restrain them.
Italia was detained after the hearing for “creating a situation that disrupted law and order in the area”, the official said.
Italia, however, claimed that National Commission for Women chief Rekha Sharma was threatening to put him in jail.
In the video for which he was summoned, Italia had allegedly called Modi a “neech aadmi” (a lowly person) and used abusive words. The women’s panel had summoned him saying that his language was “gender-biased, misogynist and condemnable”.
After Thursday’s hearing, Sharma said that Italia had denied receiving the summons but had kept his reply ready.
“He also denied his presence in the video but in his reply, he accepted tweeting,” she said. “He claimed it wasn’t him in the video.”
Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the entire Patel community in Gujarat was angered by Italia’s detention.
“They had to release him under immense pressure from the people of Gujarat,” he said. “The people of Gujarat have won.”
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