Police have booked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Hamirpur MLA, Ashish Sharma, over statements he allegedly made, during a party protest rally, against the Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, officials said on Thursday.
The case was registered by the Sadar police station on the complaint of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Hamirpur chairman Ajay Sharma. The complaint alleges that the MLA made serious allegations against the CM and the state government during the rally.
The complainant alleged that on Wednesday at Gandhi Chowk in Hamirpur, Ashish Sharma made baseless and misleading allegations against the CM and the Congress government. The complainant alleged that the statements were intended to incite the public and tarnish the image of the government.
A case has been registered under Section 353 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Hamirpur Sadar police station, police said.
The BJP had organised a protest rally and demonstration against the state government at Gandhi Chowk in Hamirpur on Wednesday and the BJP legislator had reportedly made some corruption allegations against the CM.
Ashish Sharma, reacting to the FIR, said that as an opposition MLA, it was his moral responsibility to raise his voice against the government’s shortcomings and public issues. “If what I said is incorrect, the government can file a defamation suit against me in court. If they need, I can give them evidence to support my allegations. The government now has approximately 10 to 11 months left and can conduct as many investigations as it wishes. This is the third case against me during the Congress government’s tenure. We live in a democratic country and I have been elected as an MLA by the votes of the people,” he told the media.
{{/usCountry}}Ashish Sharma, reacting to the FIR, said that as an opposition MLA, it was his moral responsibility to raise his voice against the government’s shortcomings and public issues. “If what I said is incorrect, the government can file a defamation suit against me in court. If they need, I can give them evidence to support my allegations. The government now has approximately 10 to 11 months left and can conduct as many investigations as it wishes. This is the third case against me during the Congress government’s tenure. We live in a democratic country and I have been elected as an MLA by the votes of the people,” he told the media.
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