Court poser to Karat over BJP leaders' speeches

The court was hearing a plea by Karat, which sought directions to register an FIR against BJP leaders and alleged that their provocative speeches led to the north-east Delhi riots in February 2020.

The Delhi high court on Friday asked CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat to explain how the speeches given by BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Pravesh Sahib Singh Verma — during the protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 2020 — were “communal”, “criminal” or “targeted towards a particular community”.

The Delhi high court. (HT archive)

The court was hearing a plea by Karat, which sought directions to register an FIR against BJP leaders and alleged that their provocative speeches led to the north-east Delhi riots in February 2020. The speeches referred to in Karat’s plea were given by Thakur and Verma on January 27, 2020, during a rally.

Karat had moved the HC, challenging an order of the trial court on August 26, 2020, which dismissed her plea.

The court has reserved its order in the matter.