According to senior AAP leader Yogendra Yadav, the only failure on the part of his party is that they did not have those evidences ‘cobbled together’ supporting Bharti’s action and put it in public domain to dispel the impression that he had acted without any basis.
The Aam Aadmi Party is defiant, and so is its leader, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. While the demand for the removal of his law minister Somnath Bharti for alleged vigilantism, sexism and racism is increasing, Kejriwal and his party is constantly defending him and his actions. The party is adamant on its stand that Bharti had sought action on the basis of ‘some evidence’.
According to senior AAP leader Yogendra Yadav, the only failure on the part of his party is that they did not have those evidences ‘cobbled together’ supporting Bharti’s action and put it in public domain to dispel the impression that he had acted without any basis.
In an interview to a news channel, Yadav reportedly told the host, “I saw the evidence myself…. I admit that the mistake was that we should have cobbled together all the evidence and put it in public domain and let the public view it. I think we allowed the mistaken impression to persist for 4-5 days, which was an error.”
Yadav needs to be reminded that the only piece of evidence, admitted by his party members, was a piece of paper claimed to be written by an official of Ugandan High Commission. And everybody knows that it was a lie shoved in the face of the media and public.
Also, the African women who were assaulted have not only identified Bharti, they have also recorded their statement in camera in front of the magistrate. So, when Yadav was asked as to why Bharti should not be removed when African women have given statements before a magistrate against him, Yadav said, “The concerns of women should be taken care of…. In this instance, there is one version given by the African women while there is another version given by the locals.”
The media reports which suggest the horrible incident was true support their story via multiple sound bites. It is another matter altogether that those bites were supporting Bharti’s action by saying that the women were indulging in drug pedaling and sex-racketeering. But the admittance of Bharti’s raid and his infliction of verbal assault on those women is what matters in those bites.
In addition to that, Bharti was not able to find a single piece of evidence from that raid which could have suggested a possible presence of a drug pedaller in the house where the Ugandan women were residing. Neither did they find any evidence suggesting sex-racket running from that house.
The SHO involved in the case, who failed to say ‘Yes Minister’ despite Bharti’s push, is a local hero in that area who has worked continuously towards upliftment of women. He is also known as the savior of those African women who were somehow caught in the web of prostitution and human trafficking.
The last piece of evidence is to come by the four CCTV cameras installed in the area. Of course they show action but not audio, but that will be sufficient to punch hole in AAP’s defence.
Bharti is a problem for Kejriwal and his party which should be removed as soon as possible to save face. Almost all the surveys in the country are showing a fall in the positive numbers for AAP after their dharna on Rail Bhawan. Their credibility is lowering, their leadership popularity is down and even their donation record is low.
AAP is not at a position to lose its spectacular magic when the general elections are so near. It will be good if sanity prevails over AAP leaders and they sack Bharti till the judicial enquiry is over.
