NSA against Varun,could be in jail for up to a year

The advisory board,headed by a retired or serving High Court judge,can either uphold or strike down his detention. In the former case,the government can continue to detain him for up to a year; in the latter case,he would have to be freed.

A magistrate served the government order tonight on Gandhi in Pilibhit jail where he is being held since surrendering yesterday in a case registered against him for delivering inflammatory speeches during his election campaign.

Earlier on Sunday,the Pilibhit administration had lodged four separate FIRs against Gandhi in connection with the violence that broke out between the police and his supporters yesterday. Although the violence occurred when Gandhi himself was in judicial custody,his supporters had been inflamed by the statements he had made before the media before being taken into custody,the Pilibhit police explained.

The four cases were filed under Indian Penal Code Sections 307 (attempt to murder),147,148 and 149 (rioting and related offences),332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty),336 (doing any act that endangers human life or the personal safety of others).

Gandhi’s application for bail is scheduled to come up tomorrow. The four fresh FIRs against him were likely to weaken his case,but now,as an NSA detainee,he is not entitled to bail at all.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer K T S Tulsi was quoted as saying by PTI that “it seems he will have to stay in jail maybe even for a year or more because the government is clearly worried about the implications that it could have in the rest of the country”. Tulsi,PTI said,was of the view that Gandhi’s bail plea on Monday may be “useless” following tonight’s action.

The decision to invoke NSA was taken at a high-level meeting at Chief Minister Mayawati’s residence. Senior civil and police officers were present. Principal Secretary (Information) Vijay Shanker Pandey said the decision was taken after the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police of Pilibhit recommended the step.

Explaining the government action,Pandey said Varun had made provocative speeches in public meetings at Dalganj and Barkhera in Pilibhit on March 7 and 8.

Besides,Pandey said,Varun had incited his supporters by giving a speech at the court gate on March 28. He had reached the court by a route other the one he had told the administration he would take.

Provoked by the speech,Varun’s supporters turned violent and clashed with police,leading to a major law and order issue in the area,Pandey said.

UP Director General of Police Vikram Singh and Additional Director General (Law and Order) Brij Lal accompanied Pandey at the briefing.

Maneka Gandhi visited his son in prison during the day,and alleged that the four new FIRs were part of a “political conspiracy”. The cases against Gandhi were “frivolous”,Maneka said.

Late in the night,after NSA had been slapped on Gandhi,the BJP echoed Maneka.

“This is pure political vendetta,and the action has resulted due to competitive vote-bank politics between the BSP in UP and Congress at the Centre,” spokesperson Balbir Punj said.

The “political vendetta” line was learnt to have been personally cleared by the BJP’s PM candidate L K Advani.

The developments may now lead to a united BJP rallying aggressively against the BSP government.

GVL Narasimha Rao,who’s been assisting Team Advani on surveys and policy issues,told The Indian Express late on Sunday: “The BJP has been trying to normalise the Varun issue,but the latest action only forces the issue on the BJP. Now it’s a BJP vs BSP fight on the issue in UP,but the party will have to take care that it doesn’t get deflected from the core agenda of development in its national election campaign outside the state.”

(With PTI)