Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday said he was arrested by Assam police in an illegal manner, adding that he has complete trust in the judicial system. Speaking to news agency ANI following his release on interim bail, Khera, who was deboarded from a Raipur-bound IndiGo flight, said he will leaving for Chhattisgarh capital shortly to attend Congress’s three-day plenary session.
“Without furnishing a copy of FIR and notice, I was deboarded from the aircraft and arrested by Assam Police in an illegal manner. I have complete trust in the judicial system which protected my freedom of expression today,” ANI quoted Khera as saying.
“Our struggle to protect this nation, protect constitutional values – my leader Rahul Gandhi is carrying on his struggle fearlessly, I will strengthen his effort,” he added.
A Delhi court granted interim bail to Khera in a case related to his alleged objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Khera had recently called him “Narendra Gautamdas Modi”, in an apparent swipe at the prime minister over the row involving business tycoon Gautam Adani.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Archana Beniwal granted interim bail to Khera on a bail bond of ₹30,000 and one surety of the like amount. The magistrate passed the order around 6.10 pm after receiving a copy of the apex court’s order for Khera’s release.
Earlier today, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge lashed out at the government for the arrest, claiming that it is 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.
