Amethi/Rae Bareli: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Somnath Bharti had ink hurled at him Monday in Rae Bareli. He was later arrested for allegedly making objectionable remarks last week. Somnath Bharati was arrested for criminal intimidation and promoting enmity between groups, police said. During the remarks he referred to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the state’s hospitals. Bharti was remanded to 14 days in judicial custody at Amhat jail in Sultanpur district. His bail plea will be heard Wednesday, a government counsel said. Minutes before his arrest, a youth hurled ink at the Delhi MLA when he was emerging from a guest house.
According to a purported video clip of Bharti’s remarks Saturday on the state’s medical facilities, the AAP MLA had said in Hindi, “Children are being born in hospitals, but they are of dogs.”
Shortly after ink was flung at him, Bharti is heard arguing with the policemen around him. He is heard telling them that he will strip them of their uniforms. He also tells the policemen to let Yogi Adityanath know that ‘all this’ will not make a difference. “Yogi’s death is imminent,” Bharti said. People around him are also heard asking police to ensure the arrest of the man who hurled ink at him. Police said the man involved in the incident is absconding.
Amethi police had come to arrest the MLA, a former Delhi minister, in neighbouring Rae Bareli. This happened after BJP worker Somnath Sahu registered a complaint with them Sunday over his alleged remarks a day earlier.
After the ink-throwing incident, Bharti also retweeted a video clip in which he is heard using a derogatory term for Adityanath, while talking about ‘atrocities on women’ in Uttar Pradesh.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal issued a strong reaction, targetting the UP chief minister. “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,” Kejriwal tweeted. He also asked Adityanath 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,” Kejriwal said in another tweet.
Shalabh Mani Tripathi, information advisor to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, said everyone has the right to contest polls and level allegations against each other. But he slammed Bharti for allegedly using ‘indecent language’ for a chief minister and abusing policemen discharging their duties.
“This is the language of goons,” Tripathi said. “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,” Tripathi added.