For over a decade or so, he was Sheila Dikshit’s shadow, her man Friday and her trusted lieutenant when she, as the Chief Minister of Delhi, battled inner-party feuds and successfully fended off intrigues and plots to destabilise and dethrone her. On Thursday, the quintessential backroom boy, who had embraced the limelight as part of the Congress’s aggressive new communications team, found himself up front and centre in the latest face-off between the BJP and Congress.
NEWSMAKER | Pawan Khera: The backroom boy who embraced limelight as voice of Congress
The detention of Pawan Khera, Chairman, Media & Publicity Department, AICC, as he was about to take the flight to Raipur for the Congress plenary session, has several parallels to the arrest of another Congress leader, Jignesh Mevani, in April 2022. With Assembly elections in Gujarat due in months, Mevani, then an Independent MLA, was picked up at night by the Assam Police from Gujarat’s Banaskantha district and flown to Guwahati.
Questioning if the “rule of law” was being followed, the Congress hit out at the Narendra-Modi led BJP government on Thursday after party leader Pawan Khera was deplaned from a flight to Raipur, where he was going to attend the party’s plenary session, and detained by the Assam Police.
Several party leaders got off the plane after Khera was deboarded and staged a dharna on the tarmac.
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As drama escalated at Terminal 1 of the domestic airport in Delhi, flight staff told Congress leaders there was confusion with Khera’s bags. They said the police were on its way and would explain the reason to him. (Read More)
For over a decade or so, he was Sheila Dikshit’s shadow, her man Friday and her trusted lieutenant when she, as the Chief Minister of Delhi, battled inner-party feuds and successfully fended off intrigues and plots to destabilise and dethrone her.
On Thursday, the quintessential backroom boy, who had embraced the limelight as part of the Congress’s aggressive new communications team, found himself up front and centre in the latest face-off between the BJP and Congress. (Read More)
"The majesty of law shall always prevail. The accused has tendered an unconditional apology. We hope that keeping the sanctity of public spaces, no one will use uncivilized language in political discourse hereafter," Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted on Friday. Khera was arrested after an FIR was filed against him for his remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Congress leader Pawan Khera, who was granted interim bail over alleged derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he saluted the judiciary and was grateful that the apex court upheld his liberties. Khera was arrested on Thursday by Assam Police in connection with an FIR over his remarks, a day of high drama that began with him being deplaned from a flight to Raipur and his party leaders protesting on the tarmac.
Khera told reporters outside the Dwarka court after being released that the law had come to his rescue and he was grateful the apex court had upheld his liberties. "I have deep faith in judiciary and will not comment on its proceedings," he said, adding that he had always respected the "majesty of law". -- With PTI inputs
Pawan Khera was booked under Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 153 A, 153 B (1) (promoting enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth etc.), 500 (defamation), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 505 (1) (2) (Statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code. We explain here
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh called the action by Assam police against Pawan Khera, as an example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's politics of "vendetta, harassment and intimidation." The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was worried due to Congress's successful Bharat Jodo Yatra, and now it is scared of the 85th plenary session of the Grand Old Party which will start from Friday, he told reporters, PTI reported.
The BJP also tried to detail the plenary session, he alleged, referring to the Enforcement Directorate's recent raids on Congress leaders in Raipur, and Khera's detention on Thursday.
For over a decade or so, he was Sheila Dikshit’s shadow, her man Friday and her trusted lieutenant when she, as the Chief Minister of Delhi, battled inner-party feuds and successfully fended off intrigues and plots to destabilise and dethrone her.
On Thursday, the quintessential backroom boy, who had embraced the limelight as part of the Congress’s aggressive new communications team, found himself up front and centre in the latest face-off between the BJP and Congress. Read more
Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera, who was deplaned and arrested by the Assam police in relation to a recent remark on PM Narendra Modi, was released on interim bail by a court in Dwarka. A bail bond of Rs 30,000 has been furnished.
The detention of Pawan Khera, Chairman, Media & Publicity Department, AICC, as he was about to take the flight to Raipur for the Congress plenary session, has several parallels to the arrest of another Congress leader, Jignesh Mevani, in April 2022. With Assembly elections in Gujarat due in months, Mevani, then an Independent MLA, was picked up at night by the Assam Police from Gujarat’s Banaskantha district and flown to Guwahati.
Khera was detained by an Assam Police team a day after an FIR was registered against him at Haflong Police Station of Assam’s Dima Hasao. The Assam Police told The Indian Express that they would bring Khera for further interrogation. Read more
Taking a subtle dig at the Narendra Modi-led BJP government, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, in a tweet, said that if Cartoonists Sankar and RK Laxman were drawing cartoon today, they would be in jail.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa called Pawan Khera's remarks on PM Modi "Pathetic". In a tweet, he said, "Make no mistake- pathetic remarks by courtier Pawan Khera on PM’s father have blessings of the top levels of Congress, which is full of entitlement and disdain against a person of humble origins being PM. India will not forget or forgive these horrible remarks of Congressmen".
The Bombay High Court has extended the relief granted to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from operating before a local court in a defamation complaint pertaining to his alleged remarks against PM Narendra Modi. The court has extended it till March 16, 2023
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Bhupen Borah said that the state's 'honour and regard has dropped in the entire country' because of the police action to arrest Congress leader Pawan Khera due to his recent remarks on PM Narendra Modi.
"It has come to this that if some terrorist plants a bomb and flees to Pakistan, there are doubts whether the Indian government will be able to take such a quick decision..." he said.
Borah also said that the state's democratic tradition and image had been "marred because of the Assam police’s activities and the Chief Minister’s political scheming. "Assam's people’s self-respect has been wounded. Pawan Khera had not done anything anti-national and sought to fly abroad on a charter flight…” Borah added.
The BJP hit back at the Congress for protesting police action against its spokesperson Pawan Khera, saying the opposition party's leaders should not live in this 'misconception' that they are above the law and criticised them for their agitation on the Delhi airport tarmac.
"Whatever is done is done lawfully. Congress leaders should not live under this misconception that they are above the law," BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia told reporters, as quoted by PTI. He said the Congress is playing the 'victim card' after using derogatory words against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his family members.
Accusing the Narendra Modi-led BJP government, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, "They wanted to make big news, so they arrested Pawan Khera. Also, 24 hours before the Congress session in Chhattisgarh, CM’s close aides & Cong leaders were raided by ED & CBI. They’re choking the opposition parties. This is emergency only". --- Inputs from ANI
The Supreme Court has directed a Dwarka court to grant interim bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera.
The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera, after he was arrested by the Assam Police at the Delhi airport over remarks on PM Narendra Modi.
The Supreme Court has agreed to club all the FIRs registered against Congress leader Pawan Khera. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said, " wealso accept that taken on their face value the spoken words do not lead to the sections invoked in the FIR. Hence we order: issue notice on the prayer to transfer and club all FIRs registered against Khera"
Questioning if the “rule of law” was being followed, the Congress hit out at the Narendra-Modi led BJP government on Thursday after party leader Pawan Khera was deplaned from a flight to Raipur, where he was going to attend the party’s plenary session, and detained by the Assam Police. Several party leaders got off the plane after Khera was deboarded and staged a dharna on the tarmac.
Several Congress leaders raised slogans against the government while on the tarmac. “We are all on the @IndiGo6E flight 6E 204 to Raipur and all of a sudden my colleague @Pawankhera has been asked to deplane,” Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, who was also on the flight, said on Twitter. Read here
The FIR was filed in Dima Hasao over a remark he made on the PM while addressing a press conference to demand an investigation by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into allegations made by the US-based Hindenburg Research firm against the Adani Group. The FIR has been registered under the following sections: 120 B, 153 A, 153 B (1), 500, 504, 505 (1) (2). An FIR has also been filed
After Congress leader Pawan Khera was deplaned at the Delhi airport from its Raipur-bound flight, IndiGo said the passenger was deplaned by the police and that it was is following the advice of concerned authorities.
"The flight is delayed as of now and we regret the inconvenience caused to other passengers," the carrier said in a statement. "A passenger was deplaned by the police at the Delhi airport from Raipur-bound flight 6E 204. Some other passengers have also decided to deboard on their own accord," it added. --- Inputs from PTI
Senior advocate AS Singhvi, who is representing arrested Congress leader Pawan Khera, sought for the latter's interim relief and consolidation of FIR since it has been registered in different places across the country. Singhvi told the apex court that Khera apologised and said that it was a mistake and a 'slip of tongue', Live Law reported.
Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan, Inspector General of Police (L&O), and official spokesperson of Assam Police, told The Indian Express that a case against Khera was registered at the Haflong Police Station of the state’s Dima Hasao on Wednesday. “Accordingly, we have registered a case and deputed a team to Delhi to bring Pawan Khera for further interrogation. Right now, our team is in Delhi airport, being assisted by CISF and Delhi Police. They are doing necessary formalities,” he said.
“We will seek for transit remand to the local court in Delhi. After we get the transit remand, we will get him to the state,” he added. The complaint was filed by one Samuel Changsan, who described himself as a ‘social worker’. “According to the complainant, Khera had made some objectionable remarks about the Prime Minister a few days back, and there he was trying to vitiate the communal harmony in the society…that is the content of the FIR,” said Bhuyan.
Sharing visuals of Khera being escorted into a bus, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, "He's being taken into the bus. Randeep Surjewala is going with him. They are being taken by the Assam Police. Isn't this dictatorship? Is this the reality of your right to freedom to speech?"
The Supreme Court. has begun its hearing over the arrest of Pawan Khera.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a Delhi Police spokesperson said, “A request was received from Assam Police for assistance in the arrest of accused Sri Pawan Khera. Based upon the same, local assistance was provided and upon the requisition of Assam Police, accused Shri Pawan Khera was detained from Terminal 1 of the IGI Airport and has been subsequently arrested by the Investigating Officer (IO) concerned of Assam Police.”
The Congress has approached the Supreme Court over the arrest of senior leader Pawan Khera at the Delhi airport. Following the incident, Senior Advocate AM Singhvi raised the issue of Khera's arrest in the Supreme Court, saying he will mention it front of a Chief Justice of India (CJI)-led bench.
In his initial reaction after being deplaned from an Indigo flight to Raipur, Congress leader Pawan Khera said that he was told it was over a luggage issue. Hear what he said:
The Congress, meanwhile, has called the incident “undemocratic”, and said, “we vehemently oppose this dictatorial behaviour”.
Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera was arrested by the Assam Police from the Delhi airport, after an FIR was lodged against him for his comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Khera was earlier deboarded from an IndiGo flight to Raipur, where he was heading for the AICC plenary session, scheduled to begin Friday.
Khera recently referred to the Prime Minister as “Narendra Gautamdas Modi” while addressing a press conference to demand an investigation by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into allegations made by the US-based Hindenburg Research firm against the Adani Group.
Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera has been arrested by the Assam police over his remarks on PM Modi. To know more, follow our live updates here!