Aam Aadmi Party’s Gujarat chief Isudan Gadhvi has been booked by Gujarat Police for a tweet in which he had claimed that the Union government spent Rs 830 crore on the Mann Ki Baat radio programme, reported PTI on Monday.
The 100th episode of the radio programme had aired on April 30. In the 30-minute show, which began on October 3, 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with citizens. It is aired on All India Radio on the last Sunday of every month.
“One episode of Mann Ki Baat costs Rs 8.3 crore,” Gadhvi had claimed in a tweet which has now been deleted, the news agency reported. “Which means that the Centre has spent Rs 830 crore on 100 episodes so far. This is too much. BJP workers should register their protest, because mostly they listen to this programme.”
Press Bureau of Information’s fact-checking unit had also flagged Gadhvi’s claims as misleading.
“Rs 8.3 crore is total figure of ads for Mann ki Baat till said date, not for a single episode,” the bureau had tweeted on Sunday. “Tweet assumes each episode is supported by ads. Which is false.”
On April 29, the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch registered a first information report against Gadhvi under sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 500 (defamation), 505(1)(b) and (c) (publishing rumour or report with intent to cause fear or alarm to the public, or inciting people to commit an offence against the state or against public tranquility) and 505 (2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes), of the Indian Penal Code.
He was also booked under the Information Technology Act, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) JM Yadav told PTI.
The Aam Aadmi Party, however, has said that the FIR against Gadhvi is another attack on the Opposition by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
“There are two rules set by the BJP,” Chadha said. “First is to file FIRs against leaders of the Opposition parties, especially Aam Aadmi Party leaders considering their increasing popularity. The most recent example is FIR against AAP Gujarat chief Isudan Gadhvi. The second rule by the BJP is to protect its own leaders no matter how big a crime they commit.”
Chadha said that top wrestlers of the country had to protest for two FIRs to be registered against BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for alleged sexual harassment of players.
“On one side you have AAP’s Gadhvi who was booked by the Gujarat Police for a political tweet,” Chadha said. “On the other hand top wrestlers who have made the country had to protest for an FIR. The Supreme Court had to step in for the FIRs to be registered against the BJP leader.”
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