Ahmedabad court orders inquiry into Tejashwi Yadav’s ‘Gujarati thugs’ remark

The complainant, Haresh Mehta, an office bearer of an NGO, sought action against the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader under sections 499 and 500 (dealing with criminal defamation) over an alleged remark made by Yadav.

Updated on: May 8, 2023, 20:55:01 IST

By Maulik Pathak

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A metropolitan court in Guajart’s Ahmedabad on Monday ordered an inquiry into a criminal defamation complaint filed against Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav over his alleged “only Gujaratis can be thugs” remark.

Bihar deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav (File Photo)

The complainant, Haresh Mehta, an office bearer of an NGO, sought action against the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader under sections 499 and 500 (dealing with criminal defamation) over an alleged remark made by Yadav. “Looking at the present condition of the country, only Gujaratis can be cheats (thugs),” Yadav had allegedly said while addressing mediapersons in Patna in March.

The court further scheduled the proceedings for May 20, where witnesses may appear to give testimony on Yadav’s alleged remark. The inquiry was ordered after verifying the complainant’s identity and the validity of his complaint on May 1.

The controversy stems from Yadav’s statement made before the media on March 21 where he allegedly remarked, “Only Gujaratis can be thugs in the present situation, and their fraud (crime) will be forgiven. Who will be responsible if they run away with the money belonging to LIC or banks?”.

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According to the complainant, Yadav’s statement calling the entire Gujarati community as “thug”, was made before the media.

The complainant said he is also a Gujarati, and when he came across the news on digital media, he felt that such a defamatory statement will make a non-Gujarati look down upon a resident of the state as a ‘thug’.

“The statement defames and humiliates all Gujaratis in public. A “thug” is a rogue, sly and a criminal person, and such a comparison with the entire community will cause non-Gujaratis to look at Gujaratis with suspicion”, the complainant told the court while seeking issuance of summons against Yadav and maximum punishment for him under the law.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

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