Pawan Khera arrest: Cong slams ‘Hitler-shahi’, BJP says party not above law

Reacting to Congress’ protests against its spokesperson Pawan Khera’s arrest on Thursday (February 23), the BJP said the opposition party’s leaders should not live under the misconception that they were above the law. The opposition party, on the other hand, accused the government of reducing India’s democracy to “Hitler-shahi” and “dictatorship”.

Assam Police on Thursday arrested Khera at Delhi’s IGI Airport after deplaning him from a Delhi-Raipur flight in connection with his alleged derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Khera was about to fly to Raipur to attend the party’s plenary session.

Khera had recently called him “Narendra Gautamdas Modi” in an apparent swipe at the PM over the row involving the Adani Group owned by business tycoon Gautam Adani. The PM’s full name is Narendra Damodardas Modi, with the middle name standing for his father’s name.

The Supreme Court granted Khera interim bail till February 28 later in the day.

“Arrest was lawful”

Congress leaders protested at the Delhi airport tarmac, attracting flak from the BJP. “Whatever was done was done lawfully. Congress leaders should not live under the misconception that they are above the law,” BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia told reporters.

He said the Congress was playing the “victim card” after using derogatory words against PM Modi and his family members. The BJP leader said Congress leaders “flouted the law” by starting protests on the Delhi airport tarmac, endangering the lives of fellow passengers. People were inconvenienced by the Congress protests, he said.

“Modi enjoys the blessings of more than 140 crore people of the country, and abusing him is like digging a hole in which the Congress will fall,” Bhatia said. People will teach the Congress a lesson, he said.

Also read: Passengers on Indigo’s Delhi-Raipur flight asked to deboard, put on another flight

“Reduced India’s democracy to Hitler-shahi”

Congress, on the other hand, lashed out at the government for the arrest, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge claiming that it was part of a pattern.

“Notice is given to Opposition members if they raise issues in Parliament, and Enforcement Directorate raids are conducted on our leaders in Chhattisgarh before the plenary session,” he said. “Today our media chairman (Khera) was forcibly deplaned and arrested. The Modi government has reduced India’s democracy to Hitler-shahi. We strongly condemn this dictatorship,” Kharge tweeted in Hindi.

विपक्ष संसद में मुद्दे उठाए तो नोटिस दिया जाता है।
महाधिवेशन के पहले छतीसगढ़ के हमारे नेताओं पर ED का रेड कराया जाता है।
आज मीडिया चेयरमेन को जहाज़ से ज़बरदस्ती उतारकर गिरफ़्तार किया गया। भारत के लोकतंत्र को मोदी सरकार ने हिटलरशाही बना दिया।
हम इस तानाशाही की घोर निंदा करते हैं।

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) February 23, 2023

Congress leader KC Venugopal accused the BJP of targeting the party’s plenary session and asked whether India had become a banana republic.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav slammed the BJP, saying the “ruling party has no faith in law, constitution, and democracy”. He alleged that it spends a lot of money on social media to target him, noting that a party member was arrested for speaking against the BJP.

(With agency inputs)