THE HARYANA government is coming under increasing pressure to take a stand on the continuing protest by wrestlers, who belong to the state, demanding the arrest of BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations.Barring a few BJP leaders, the Manohar Lal Khattar government has largely stuck to the stance that law will take its course, even as the Opposition and Haryana’s powerful khaps have flocked to the wrestlers’ side.Khattar earlier said he did not support wrestlers resorting to protests, adding: “The issue is not related to Haryana. It is related to players’ teams and the Union government. The Supreme Court has already ordered registration of FIRs.”With FIR details now indicating the level of harassment the wrestlers were allegedly subjected to, The Indian Express called up the entire Haryana Council of Ministers to get their response.Overall, the ministers stuck to the official line. A few said the wrestlers should wait for the police’s probe findings, others said the protests were engineered by the Opposition, while several refused to comment.Here is what they said:“The allegations are very serious in nature. From what I have gathered from media reports, the Delhi Police needs to speed up its investigation into the matter. Everything is on the Delhi Police as of now… For me to say who is innocent or guilty, it is not possible, because it has all come out in the public what the FIRs state. It is up to the Delhi Police to expedite their investigation into the FIRs. If the allegations are substantiated by the probe, the strictest possible action should be taken… Although it is not a state (Haryana) subject, everybody from the state is with these girls.”“They (the wrestlers) should come out of the clutches of Opposition leaders and not allow themselves to be sacrificed for political interests. Somewhere there is a mahapanchayat or somewhere a dharna… They have the right to take part in an agitation, but players should come out of the clutches of these Opposition people soon. The government is listening to the players. They demanded a committee, registration of FIRs, that has been done… These players are our national heroes but the matter has got a little spoiled because they have got caught in the clutches of Opposition leaders.”(Earlier Vij had offered to raise the wrestlers’ issues with the highest level in the government.)“Both sides are giving their versions. I saw on social media that the complainant whom they (the wrestlers) said is a minor has three birth certificates in her name… What would have happened if he (Brij Bhushan) had got imprisoned under the POCSO Act on the basis of this (one of the FIRs against him is under the Act to prevent sexual assault against minors)! That is why an inquiry is required. Any action against anybody should only be taken after a thorough inquiry. Once the inquiry is completed, whoever is found guilty should be punished. Would it be called justice if, only on the basis of allegations, somebody is thrown into jail without an inquiry? A proper investigation is required to unveil the truth. Once the truth comes out, whoever is found guilty should be punished accordingly… What is happening is that one side is firm on its accusations, while the other side is vehemently opposing them. So, how will there be justice? That is why everybody should wait for the outcome of the ongoing inquiry.”“Our daughters are our pride, they are our honour. But, nobody should politicise this issue. A player should be seen as a player, also a player should not play into the hands of politicians. Otherwise, their sanctity will diminish. Doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani hona chahiye (the truth should come out). An impartial probe should be conducted… Yes, the way the Delhi Police treated our daughters (as they marched to the new Parliament building) needs to be condemned and action should be taken against them… (But) Brij Bhushan is giving his side of the version and it is for the courts of law and police to find the truth. We are all making efforts to resolve this ongoing standoff. Justice shall surely be given to our daughters.”“I don’t want to say anything on this. I have said earlier what I had to say.”(Last month, Ranjit Singh, who was earlier in the INLD and is the son of its late supremo Devi Lal, had supported the protesting wrestlers and said, “These wrestlers have brought pride to the country at the international level… It is not fair if sportspersons have to sit on dharna for their rights.” He had also said that the allegations against Brij Bhushan should be investigated at the earliest, and he should resign on moral grounds.)Dhanak promised to talk, but did not call back. Later, he could not be reached.“These wrestlers have brought laurels to our country and we are proud of them… Nobody is trying to save Brij Bhushan. Rather, FIRs have already been registered and an investigation is on.”Dalal did not respond to repeated calls.(Earlier, he had said: “As per the law, anybody and everybody has the right to carry out a peaceful protest. All legitimate demands shall be fulfilled as per the law. Be it farmers or sportspersons, all their legitimate demands shall be fulfilled as there is a BJP government, whose primary objective is to serve the people of this nation.”)Banwari Lal did not respond to repeated calls.(Earlier, he had said: “The wrestlers’ protest is being carried out at the behest of Opposition parties… They keep getting such protests orchestrated.”)Singh promised to call back but was later unavailable.(Singh is himself facing an FIR over sexual harassment charges levelled by a woman coach. He was removed as Sports Minister after much delay by the Khattar government, but continues to hold his Printing and Stationery portfolio.)Yadav could not be reached despite repeated calls and messages.(Speaking earlier this week to a few mediapersons, Yadav had feigned ignorance, saying he did not have much information about the incident and said only the Union government could speak on the matter as it pertained to it. He had also called the protesting wrestlers “nation’s heroes”.)Gupta could not be reached despite repeated attempts.The only woman in the Khattar Ministry, Dhanda did not respond to queries.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he tries not to “do politics abroad” while on international trips, in an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on foreign soil. Speaking in South Africa’s Cape Town, the minister was responding to a query on how he would react to “what some people who go to the US say”.“There are sometimes things bigger than politics. And when you step outside the country, I think that’s important to remember,” he said, without naming Rahul Gandhi. “So I may differ strongly with someone, but how I counter it, I would like to go back home and do it, and watch me when I get back.”#WATCH | …”There are sometimes, things bigger than politics & when you step outside the country, that is important to remember…I differ with them but how I counter it, I would like to go home and do it. Watch me when I get back”: EAM S Jaishankar when asked about Congress… pic.twitter.com/7h0YutokpH— ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2023“I am perfectly prepared to argue very vigorously at home, so you will never find me wanting in that regard. But even a democratic culture has a certain collective responsibility… There is a national interest, there is a collective image,” Jaishankar added.Since last year, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been attacking Rahul Gandhi’s speeches and interactions abroad which they claim are harmful to the country’s reputation. Most recently, the senior Congress leader’s remarks during his ongoing US tour drew the party’s ire, when he said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP are controlling all instruments of politics in India.Union Minister Anurag Thakur, while speaking to news agency ANI, said earlier, “Rahul Gandhi on his foreign trips wants to insult the Prime Minister but ends up insulting the country. He doesn’t even consider India as a nation and calls it a Union of states. He raises questions over India’s progress. What does he want to achieve on his foreign visits? Is mud-slinging all that he has left to do?”
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he tries not to “do politics abroad” while on international trips, in an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on foreign soil. Speaking in South Africa’s Cape Town, the minister was responding to a query on how he would react to “what some people who go to the US say”.“There are sometimes things bigger than politics. And when you step outside the country, I think that’s important to remember,” he said, without naming Rahul Gandhi. “So I may differ strongly with someone, but how I counter it, I would like to go back home and do it, and watch me when I get back.”#WATCH | …”There are sometimes, things bigger than politics & when you step outside the country, that is important to remember…I differ with them but how I counter it, I would like to go home and do it. Watch me when I get back”: EAM S Jaishankar when asked about Congress… pic.twitter.com/7h0YutokpH— ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2023“I am perfectly prepared to argue very vigorously at home, so you will never find me wanting in that regard. But even a democratic culture has a certain collective responsibility… There is a national interest, there is a collective image,” Jaishankar added.Since last year, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been attacking Rahul Gandhi’s speeches and interactions abroad which they claim are harmful to the country’s reputation. Most recently, the senior Congress leader’s remarks during his ongoing US tour drew the party’s ire, when he said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP are controlling all instruments of politics in India.Union Minister Anurag Thakur, while speaking to news agency ANI, said earlier, “Rahul Gandhi on his foreign trips wants to insult the Prime Minister but ends up insulting the country. He doesn’t even consider India as a nation and calls it a Union of states. He raises questions over India’s progress. What does he want to achieve on his foreign visits? Is mud-slinging all that he has left to do?”
As Arvind Kejriwal drums up support among Opposition leaders against the Centre’s ordinance that wrested control of ‘services’ from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the Capital, two former Delhi MPs have emerged as the voices and faces of the distrust the Congress continues to nurse against him.While other Delhi Congress leaders — who witnessed the AAP’s rapid rise in the city’s politics over the last decade and continue to smart from it — have maintained a low profile, Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dikshit have been publicly and aggressively vocal in cautioning the Congress high command against the Delhi Chief Minister’s direct and indirect overtures.Days after the Delhi and Punjab units of the Congress called on the high command and told them to “keep Kejriwal at arm’s length” for “intra-party cohesion”,Dikshit and Maken sharpened their attack on the Delhi CM over the ordinance.“Kejriwal is well aware that he will be sent to jail for 8-10 years if he does not get control of the Vigilance Department,” Dikshit said, adding that he supported the ordinance against the AAP government.Maken joined the chorus, alleging that the AAP convenor’s “true motives” stood exposed, as he had openly sought “enhanced powers over services, aiming to take control over the Vigilance Department”, thus challenging decades of established governance norms. This is a point he has consistently argued since the ordinance was issued.“He conveniently downplays his true intentions. Investigations into scandals like Liquor gate, ‘Sheesh-mahal (Kejriwal’s Rs 171-crore residence…), power subsidy scam, bus purchases scam and others, will reveal the extent of corruption within his administration. And this is what he wants to stop,” Maken tweeted.Speaking to The Indian Express, Dikshit said: “Any Congressman will be chucked out of the party if they make any statement against its national leadership. Then how can the party think of allying with the AAP, whose leader Kejriwal has made more vile statements against the Congress’s national leadership than even PM Modi?”Both Maken and Dikshit also questioned the AAP over its “support of the BJP” on critical issues like Article 370. “What about the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir by the BJP-led Centre, which he [Kejriwal] supported, or not signing the Congress’s impeachment motion against [former CJI] Dipak Misra, or not signing the no-confidence motion against the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson that immediately followed?” Dikshit added.A senior Congress leader said that following the duo’s example, other Delhi Congress leaders are “gradually emerging” with sharp criticism of Kejriwal, especially after the latter issued a public appeal to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, seeking a meeting.According to Congress sources, there are two main prickly issues standing between the AAP and Congress. The first is what the Congress insiders describe as “unforgettable, patently false and malicious propaganda” against both its national and local [Delhi] leadership, “on the basis of which Kejriwal came to power”. The second is a Delhi Assembly resolution after the AAP formed its second successive government, demanding retraction of the Bharat Ratna conferred on former PM Rajiv Gandhi – neither of which, the insiders say, will “change or be forgotten”.While senior AAP leaders acknowledge that a united Opposition is key to defeating the BJP, the role that the Congress will play in it is still not clear. The AAP has shared stage with the Congress in the past, but an alliance has not come through since 2013, when the Congress had extended outside support to let the AAP form the government in the city. Before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, alliance talks between the two parties lasted for months, but ended in a deadlock.While Maken — a former Delhi and Union minister — has never minced his words regarding the AAP and its convenor, it is former East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit, the son of the late three-time Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, who had taken the first potshot, in March this year.On a day when Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh marched to Parliament against the Centre, along with other Opposition leaders, on a host of issues, Dikshit and a group of former Delhi government ministers filed a complaint with Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena against the AAP government and Kejriwal over the now-defunct Feed Back Unit (the AAP’s rivals claim it was used to spy on them). Alleging sedition, they demanded a trial under the UAPA, the anti-terror law.Afterwards, when the CBI summoned the Delhi CM for questioning in the alleged excise policy scam, Maken tweeted that Kejriwal “should not be shown any sympathy or support”, and asked his party colleagues who are lawyers not to represent Kejriwal or the Delhi government in the case.Regarding the ordinance, a senior Delhi Congress leader said the party believed the BJP would “somehow be able to push the legislation through”, so aligning with the AAP on this issue was “not worth it”.Another leader argued that Kejriwal was merely “using the ordinance as a bogey” to make it “appear as if he is the lone voice” fighting for the Constitution. “He wants to look like a self-styled saviour of the Constitution, because he is embroiled in corruption charges that have dented his image. It’s a trap. He is seeking vindication,” the leader alleged.At a meeting with Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal and others on Monday on the issue, leaders of the Congress’s Delhi and Punjab units argued strongly against extending any support to the AAP. “Delhi Congress leaders spoke against supporting the AAP on the ordinance. However, former Delhi Congress chiefs Arvinder Singh Lovely and Subhash Chopra held that supporting the ordinance was warranted, given the Congress’s previous demand for more administrative powers to an elected government in Delhi. However, both said the final decision was up to the high command,” a source said.On its part, not only did the AAP disparage Maken and Dikshit by questioning their current standing within the Congress, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also accused the duo of “misleading” their own leaders, given that Sheila Dikshit had herself introduced a motion as CM in the Delhi Assembly on September 11, 2002, demanding more powers for Delhi’s elected government compared to the LG.Bharadwaj also tweeted that the motion moved by Sheila Dikshit had made the exact same point that the AAP had made in the Supreme Court, saying, “Amendment in Rules or any order of the Centre cannot take away special status of Delhi which is provided by the Constitution under Art 239 AA. So why are Delhi Congress leaders misleading Mr @RahulGandhi?”Maken said he had never claimed that as Delhi CM, Sheila Dikshit hadn’t sought full statehood or more authority. Rather, he said, Kejriwal wants to gain “unique privileges previously denied to CMs like Sheila Dikshit, Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj”.Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, “This ordinance is a diversionary tactic by Kejriwal, whose public image has been severely dented after he was caught on the wrong foot on various scams. He is trying to divert public attention from these.”Sandeep Dikshit said, “Which political leader wouldn’t seek more power? But the fact is that when Mrs Dikshit did so, it was within the contours of the Constitution, just like her administration worked within the powers conferred upon her by the Constitution.”
As Arvind Kejriwal drums up support among Opposition leaders against the Centre’s ordinance that wrested control of ‘services’ from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the Capital, two former Delhi MPs have emerged as the voices and faces of the distrust the Congress continues to nurse against him.While other Delhi Congress leaders — who witnessed the AAP’s rapid rise in the city’s politics over the last decade and continue to smart from it — have maintained a low profile, Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dikshit have been publicly and aggressively vocal in cautioning the Congress high command against the Delhi Chief Minister’s direct and indirect overtures.Days after the Delhi and Punjab units of the Congress called on the high command and told them to “keep Kejriwal at arm’s length” for “intra-party cohesion”,Dikshit and Maken sharpened their attack on the Delhi CM over the ordinance.“Kejriwal is well aware that he will be sent to jail for 8-10 years if he does not get control of the Vigilance Department,” Dikshit said, adding that he supported the ordinance against the AAP government.Maken joined the chorus, alleging that the AAP convenor’s “true motives” stood exposed, as he had openly sought “enhanced powers over services, aiming to take control over the Vigilance Department”, thus challenging decades of established governance norms. This is a point he has consistently argued since the ordinance was issued.“He conveniently downplays his true intentions. Investigations into scandals like Liquor gate, ‘Sheesh-mahal (Kejriwal’s Rs 171-crore residence…), power subsidy scam, bus purchases scam and others, will reveal the extent of corruption within his administration. And this is what he wants to stop,” Maken tweeted.Speaking to The Indian Express, Dikshit said: “Any Congressman will be chucked out of the party if they make any statement against its national leadership. Then how can the party think of allying with the AAP, whose leader Kejriwal has made more vile statements against the Congress’s national leadership than even PM Modi?”Both Maken and Dikshit also questioned the AAP over its “support of the BJP” on critical issues like Article 370. “What about the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir by the BJP-led Centre, which he [Kejriwal] supported, or not signing the Congress’s impeachment motion against [former CJI] Dipak Misra, or not signing the no-confidence motion against the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson that immediately followed?” Dikshit added.A senior Congress leader said that following the duo’s example, other Delhi Congress leaders are “gradually emerging” with sharp criticism of Kejriwal, especially after the latter issued a public appeal to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, seeking a meeting.According to Congress sources, there are two main prickly issues standing between the AAP and Congress. The first is what the Congress insiders describe as “unforgettable, patently false and malicious propaganda” against both its national and local [Delhi] leadership, “on the basis of which Kejriwal came to power”. The second is a Delhi Assembly resolution after the AAP formed its second successive government, demanding retraction of the Bharat Ratna conferred on former PM Rajiv Gandhi – neither of which, the insiders say, will “change or be forgotten”.While senior AAP leaders acknowledge that a united Opposition is key to defeating the BJP, the role that the Congress will play in it is still not clear. The AAP has shared stage with the Congress in the past, but an alliance has not come through since 2013, when the Congress had extended outside support to let the AAP form the government in the city. Before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, alliance talks between the two parties lasted for months, but ended in a deadlock.While Maken — a former Delhi and Union minister — has never minced his words regarding the AAP and its convenor, it is former East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit, the son of the late three-time Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, who had taken the first potshot, in March this year.On a day when Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh marched to Parliament against the Centre, along with other Opposition leaders, on a host of issues, Dikshit and a group of former Delhi government ministers filed a complaint with Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena against the AAP government and Kejriwal over the now-defunct Feed Back Unit (the AAP’s rivals claim it was used to spy on them). Alleging sedition, they demanded a trial under the UAPA, the anti-terror law.Afterwards, when the CBI summoned the Delhi CM for questioning in the alleged excise policy scam, Maken tweeted that Kejriwal “should not be shown any sympathy or support”, and asked his party colleagues who are lawyers not to represent Kejriwal or the Delhi government in the case.Regarding the ordinance, a senior Delhi Congress leader said the party believed the BJP would “somehow be able to push the legislation through”, so aligning with the AAP on this issue was “not worth it”.Another leader argued that Kejriwal was merely “using the ordinance as a bogey” to make it “appear as if he is the lone voice” fighting for the Constitution. “He wants to look like a self-styled saviour of the Constitution, because he is embroiled in corruption charges that have dented his image. It’s a trap. He is seeking vindication,” the leader alleged.At a meeting with Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal and others on Monday on the issue, leaders of the Congress’s Delhi and Punjab units argued strongly against extending any support to the AAP. “Delhi Congress leaders spoke against supporting the AAP on the ordinance. However, former Delhi Congress chiefs Arvinder Singh Lovely and Subhash Chopra held that supporting the ordinance was warranted, given the Congress’s previous demand for more administrative powers to an elected government in Delhi. However, both said the final decision was up to the high command,” a source said.On its part, not only did the AAP disparage Maken and Dikshit by questioning their current standing within the Congress, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also accused the duo of “misleading” their own leaders, given that Sheila Dikshit had herself introduced a motion as CM in the Delhi Assembly on September 11, 2002, demanding more powers for Delhi’s elected government compared to the LG.Bharadwaj also tweeted that the motion moved by Sheila Dikshit had made the exact same point that the AAP had made in the Supreme Court, saying, “Amendment in Rules or any order of the Centre cannot take away special status of Delhi which is provided by the Constitution under Art 239 AA. So why are Delhi Congress leaders misleading Mr @RahulGandhi?”Maken said he had never claimed that as Delhi CM, Sheila Dikshit hadn’t sought full statehood or more authority. Rather, he said, Kejriwal wants to gain “unique privileges previously denied to CMs like Sheila Dikshit, Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj”.Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, “This ordinance is a diversionary tactic by Kejriwal, whose public image has been severely dented after he was caught on the wrong foot on various scams. He is trying to divert public attention from these.”Sandeep Dikshit said, “Which political leader wouldn’t seek more power? But the fact is that when Mrs Dikshit did so, it was within the contours of the Constitution, just like her administration worked within the powers conferred upon her by the Constitution.”
