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Delhi drama: SC gives Cong's Pawan Khera interim bail after arrest by Assam cops
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said police had no warrant or FIR. "They said everything was being done on the instruction of (Assam chief minister) Himanta Biswa Sarma. Is Himanta Biswa Sarma God?" Surjewala asked.
The Supreme Court has granted Congress leader Pawan Khera protection from arrest till Tuesday and ordered his release on interim bail upon production before a magistrate in Delhi. A bench headed by chief justice DY Chandrachud also said it would hear Khera's plea to club all FIRs against him (one has been filed in Assam and two in Uttar Pradesh - Varanasi and Lucknow) on Monday.
The court also sought a reply from these two states. "We have protected you (Khera) from arrest but there has to be some level of discourse…" the chief justice said, heading a bench that included justices MR Shah and PS Narasimha.
LIVE COVERAGE | Furore over Cong leader Pawan Khera's arrest, SC steps in
The relief for the Congress spokesperson comes hours after he was taken into custody at Delhi airport in controversial fashion; Khera was pulled off a Raipur-bound IndiGo flight and held by Delhi Police till an Assam Police team arrived to arrest him over 'derogatory remarks' against prime minister Narendra Modi, whom he called 'Narendra Gautamdas Modi' in a press conference.
The Congress has defended the remark as a 'slip of the tongue' but Khera's advocate, party colleague Abhishek Manu Singhvi, told the Supreme Court today that his client would offer an 'unconditional apology'.
"He (Khera) made statements in a press conference… made certain statements I cannot say in court but I personally would not have made," Singhvi said, stressing that the charges against his client do not require his arrest.
Khera's detention and arrest sparked protests from other Congress leaders on the same flight - they were travelling to Chhattisgarh for a party meeting.
READ | 'Your bag has a wrong tag': How Pawan Khera was taken into custody
"Assam police is arresting Pawan Khera. Randeep Singh Surjewala is going (with) him. This is the same Assam Police which do not take any action against atrocities. I want to ask what was the reason... If this is not dictatorship, then what is?" the Congress' Supriya Shrinate said in a video the party tweeted.
"Are you detaining him for some words which was a slip of the tongue… Then you should first arrest PM Modi who hurls abusive words, like why Nehru's surname is not used etc. What Pawan Khera said was a slip of tongue, he himself corrected," she said. Surjewala said the police did not produce a warrant and said they had been ordered by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
"Is Himanta Biswa Sarma God?" Surjewala demanded.
Pawan Khera de-boarded from IndiGo flight: This is what happened
1. Khera was de-boarded from an IndiGo plane in which several Congress leaders were flying to Raipur for the party's plenary meeting.
2. He was asked to exit the flight over 'luggage issue'. He told officials he did not have any luggage, apart from a hand bag. After he got down he was told a DCP (deputy commissioner of police) was coming and he could not leave.
3. Both Delhi Police and Assam Police then reached the airport while Congress leaders started protesting on the tarmac, raising slogans against the centre.
4. Other passengers on the flight were also asked to de-board as the flight had been delayed. An alternate flight was arranged for these passengers.
5. Assam Police told ANI a team had been sent to Delhi to take remand of Pawan Khera in connection with a case filed at Haflong Police Station.
READ | Pawan Khera arrest: 'Harassment Modi style' says Congress
6. "We have requested Delhi Police to arrest him (Pawan Khera). We will bring him to Assam after taking permission from a local court," Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan, an Assam Police spokesperson told ANI.
7. Khera will be presented in a Delhi court and taken to Assam on a transit remand, ANI reported. The Congress spokesperson, however, remained defiant, declaring, "Let's see, this is a long battle" as he was taken by Assam Police.
READ | 'India now Hitlershahi': Cong chief Kharge slams Modi govt
8. The Congress and Khera then moved the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing, and chief justice DY Chandrachud agreed to hear the matter after the Constitution Bench finished its day's hearing of the Shiv Sena case.
9. Meanwhile, Congress leaders and those from other opposition parties have come out in support of Khera. Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the BJP for targeting critics. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot hit out at the saffron party's 'frustration'.
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10. The allegedly derogatory remarks against Modi were made during a Congress party press conference in Mumbai on February 17, at which Khera referred to the prime minister as 'Narendra Gautamdas Modi' before conferring with a colleague and correcting himself. The remark has been seen by some as referring to the party's claims the Modi government favours Gautam Adani, the Gujarat billionaire at the centre of the Adani-Hindenburg storm.
