Somnath Bharti wants ‘Yogi to come forward, talk’ after ink hurled at him in UP
Somnath Bharti tweeted that his bail application has been kept pending till January 13 and he has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
Hours after he had ink hurled at him in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli and was arrested later for allegedly making objectionable remarks against the state government, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Somnath Bharti on Monday said he wants chief minister Yogi Adityanath to come and talk to him and not exhibit “gunda raj,” according to news agency ANI.
“I've been here since yesterday with our party workers to peacefully organise programs in six constituencies. Today under the protection of police a BJP goon was allowed to splash me with black ink. I want Yogi to come forward & talk to me. Not exhibit 'gunda raj’,” Bharti told ANI.
Bharti tweeted that his bail application has been kept pending till January 13 and he has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days. He was arrested for criminal intimidation and promoting enmity between groups, police told news agency PTI, following remarks two days ago allegedly referring to Adityanath and the state's hospitals.
The MLA from Delhi's Malviya Nagar also retweeted a video clip in which he can be heard calling Adityanath a “gunda”, while talking about "atrocities on women" in the state.
The ink throwing incident and Bharti’s arrest drew a sharp reaction from Delhi chief minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal. "Yogiji, our MLA Somnath Bharti ji was going to see your government school. Ink was thrown at him? Are your schools so bad? If someone goes to see your school then why do you get so scared? Fix the school,” he tweeted, asking him to consult Delhi’s deputy chief Minister Manish Sisodia on how to go about it.
“Yogi ji, you are ruining the future of crores of children of Uttar Pradesh," he wrote in another post.
On the other hand, Shalabh Mani Tripathi, information advisor to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, slammed Bharti for allegedly using “indecent language” for a chief minister and abusing policemen discharging their duties. “This is the language of goons,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
"Arvind Kejriwal is himself a chief minister. If he has the slightest idea about the post of a chief minister, then he should tender an apology to the entire country for the statement made by Bharti for UP's popular chief minister," he added.
(With agency inputs)
