New Delhi:
Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti's lawyers and the Delhi Women's Commission had a public confrontation today. The Law Minister had been summoned by the women's commission this afternoon to explain charges that he had mistreated African women during his controversial raid last week, but he sent his lawyer.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will release a video today in Mr Bharti's defence, after ruling out his resignation over the raid.
Here are the latest developments in this story:
Mr Bharti had failed to respond to two previous notices by the Delhi Women's Commission. The panel warned that if he doesn't respond to its summons for the third time, he will face an FIR or a First Information Report. Mr Bharti's office claims it never received the notices as they were delivered to the wrong address.
The Law Minister was summoned to a meeting of the Political Affairs Committee of the Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party, its highest decision-making body, on Thursday amid strong demands for his removal from the Delhi cabinet.
At the meeting the AAP's top leaders, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, backed Mr Bharti,also saying that he should be "lauded for his efforts to address people's grievances."
The party, though, warned Mr Bharti against the use of "foul language", referring to his recent remarks against senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley and noted lawyer Harish Salve. "We have warned him to control himself in the future," Mr Yadav said. (Read)
Harish Salve is representing Ugandan women who have filed a police case alleging that they were molested and beaten up by a mob earlier this month which hurled racist slurs at them, called them prostitutes and forced some of them to submit urine samples for drug tests. They tested negative for drugs in a Delhi hospital. (Read)
The mob was mobilised allegedly by the Law Minister. On camera, he is seen arguing with police officers who said they could not raid a house in his constituency or arrest the women because they did not have warrants.
Accused of vigilantism, of gross racism and sexism, and of "stoking prejudices", Somnath Bharti has denied all allegations. He says residents in the area had repeatedly urged the police to take action against African nationals trafficking drugs and sex, but that their pleas had been ignored by apathetic officers.
A police case has been filed by a Ugandan woman against the controversial "midnight raid" by Mr Bharti, though he is not named in the First Information Report or FIR. Seven women have now deposed in court in connection with the case.
Mr Kejriwal had held a two-day demonstration in the heart of the city to protest against the cops who did not make the arrests ordered by the Law Minister.
One of those cops has been asked to proceed on leave as part of a compromise offered by the Centre to Mr Kejriwal to call off his protest. A judge is investigating the incident to determine the facts.
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