Despite mounting pressure on him to quit as Delhi’s Law Minister, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Somnath Bharti on Monday said that his party leaders will continue to fight for the real causes of the common man and will even give up their lives for them.
Speaking to reporters outside the Rail Bhawan, Bharti said, “We will give up our lives but will fight for the people of Delhi. The people are unhappy because of absolute anarchy created by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.”
“They are also unhappy because of the barbarous attitude of Delhi Police,” he said.
Endorsing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s demand that Delhi Police should be brought under the direct control of the state government, the Law Minister said, “This situation has arisen due to indifferent attitude of the central government. We are not responsible for it now as our demands have not been met by the Centre. We will continue to hold protests if our demands are not met.”
Bharti, dismissing questions about his improper conduct and resignation, said, “How will the inquiry panel complete its probe against the guilty officers if they are not even suspended from office.”
“How can you guarantee that the probe will be fair with those who are guilty still continuing in their office?” he asked.
The reactions from Bharti came even as some members of Congress Women’s Wing protested in front of the Delhi Police headquarters demanding Bharti’s arrest for his midnight raid.
Somnath Bharti has been under fire for ordering a midnight raid at the house of a Ugandan woman on Wednesday last week in order to bust a prostitution and drug-peddling ring.
The AAP Minister again triggered a fresh controversy after he was seen attending the medical examination being conducted upon some Ugandan women, who the minister claimed were prostitutes and drug-peddlers.
The CCTV footage obtained from inside the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) showed that the Bharti was talking to doctors at 5 am when the medical tests were being carried out on Ugandan women.
According to reports, the Delhi Law Minister was seen at AIIMS very early and asked to ‘see’ for himself what was going on at the hospital.
Bharti reached AIIMS shortly after unidentified persons beat up and abused four Ugandan women in South Delhi’s Khirki Extension on January 15 night.
One of the victims have lodged a formal complaint with Delhi Police and it has now registered a First Information Report (FIR) against unknown people in this regard.
The woman, in her complaint filed in the Saket court on Saturday, has alleged that a group of people from a political party forcibly entered her house in South Delhi and molested her. She also claimed that she was threatened to leave the premises where she has been residing in.
Though she didn’t name any individual or a political party, she told the court that she could identify the men. The court then ordered the police to lodge an FIR and report back to it on the matter on February 14.
However, Bharti was not named in the FIR.
The matter came to fore after Bharti, accompanied by some residents and AAP supporters, accosted four women from Uganda during the raid on a building in Khirki Extension, which is in his constituency in South Delhi.
At least two were allegedly forced to go to hospital and undergo drug tests.
The Minister later justified raid saying drugs and sex were allegedly being trafficked there. The Law Minister has vehemently denied any wrongdoing on the part of workers of his Aam Aadmi Party who were present during that raid.
The National Human Rights Council (NHRC) has also taken cognizance of the matter and issued a notice to the Delhi Chief Secretary.
Since an FIR has been registered against Bharti and he was also seen at the AIIMS, there are chances that Delhi Police may serve notices on him to join the investigation.
