In Delhi Lieutenant Governor vs AAP, Court Intervenes On Tweets

Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was today asked by a court to take down tweets against Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena that allege corruption.

In an interim order, the Delhi High Court also restrained AAP MLAs from publishing comments against the Lieutenant Governor linked to an alleged scam that dates to his term as Chief of Khadi Gram Udyog.

Mr Saxena had urged the Delhi High Court to restrain AAP leaders from directing what he called "false" allegations at him and his family. After the court order, he tweeted: "Satyamev Jayate".

सत्यमेव जयते 🙏

— LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) September 27, 2022

AAP alleges that Mr Saxena was involved in corruption during his stint as the chairman of Khadi Village Industries in the days following the notes ban. The Lieutenant Governor, AAP alleges, had changed banned currency notes worth Rs 1,400 crore as the chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

Last week, Justice Amit Bansal, hearing the case, observed, "I can imagine a politician saying things against another politician but not against a constitutional functionary. He is a constitutional authority."

AAP replied that "even constitutional authorities have some history."

Mr Saxena told the court that the tweets and videos posted against him were "false and libelous".

Ties between AAP and the Lieutenant Governor, who took charge in May, have been frosty but tensions escalated after Mr Saxena flagged what he called corruption in the AAP government's new liquor policy for Delhi. AAP hit back with corruption allegations against Mr Saxena and demanded a CBI probe.

On a report by the Lt Governor, the CBI raided Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and named him as an accused in its FIR, along with 14 others.

Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia say the CBI found no evidence of any corruption in multiple searches.