By IANS,
New Delhi : The Uttar Pradesh government Saturday sought to justify before the Supreme Court the detention of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), saying his speeches had communal overtones and threatened the law and order situation.
In its 35-page affidavit, submitted to the apex court in response to Gandhi’s lawsuit challenging his detention, the state government also denied his allegation that the NSA was invoked out of political vendetta and to foil his electoral debut.
The state government also accused him of triggering chaos and violence on the day of his arrest at a court in Pilibhit town March 28.
The NSA was invoked against Gandhi for delivering speeches with “communal overtones and for chaos created by him while surrendering before a court on March 28”, the state government and the Pilibhit district magistrate told the apex court in their joint affidavit.
The apex court had April 2 issued notices to the two on Gandhi’s lawsuit. After issuing notices, the apex court had slated the matter for hearing April 13.
While slating the matter for hearing on April 13, the apex court had indicated that it should not be difficult to release him on bail to enable him file nominations to contest election from Pilibhit.
During a hearing April 2, Gandhi’s counsel and former additional solicitor general Mukul Rohatgi contended that the Pilibhit district magistrate had invoked NSA against his client illegally and independently, without being delegeted the power to do so by the state government as stipulated by law.
Rohatgi had also challenged Gandhi’s detention on the grounds that he was not supplied all the relevant materials, including the CDs of his alleged speeches, which were used to invoke the stringent preventive detention law.
But the Uttar Pradesh government in its affidavit said there was no need to supply all the relevant documents to him.
In his lawsuit, seeking legal relief to enable him to file his election nomination, Gandhi has alleged that he was detained under NSA as the Bahujan Samaj Party government headed by Mayawati feared that he would be released on bail if he was arrested merely in cases registered against him for the alleged hate speeches.
He has alleged in his lawsuit that the breach of peace on the day of his arrest was due to brutality and excesses by police.
Gandhi was lodged in Pilibhit jail after his arrest and later shifted to Etah jail for security reasons. The BJP has announced his name as its candidate for the Lok Sabha election from Pilibhit, represented currently by his mother, former central minister Maneka Gandhi.