AAP, BJP two sides of same coin: Cong on Delhi govt's nod in Kanhaiya sedition case

The Congress hit out at the Arvind Kejriwal government on Saturday for its sanction to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar and nine others in connection with a sedition case, saying the AAP's thinking is the same as that of the BJP and they were "two sides of the same coin".

The Delhi government on Friday gave a go-ahead to the city police to prosecute former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and nine others in connection with a four-year-old sedition case.

Senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said the move exposes the face of Kejriwal and his government.

"Whatever has happened till now, whether it was CAA or NPR, the AAP has the same thinking as that of the BJP. They are the two sides of the same coin, their thinking isn't different," Sharma told reporters in a press conference.

 

"They do not have the police but they have the administration. whether it is the magistrate or other officials they could have given orders," he said, alleging that the AAP has acted selectively on cases which "raises questions over its mentality".

Earlier on Saturday, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram also hit out at the AAP government, saying it was "no less ill-informed than the Centre" in its understanding of the sedition law.

"Delhi Government is no less ill-informed than the central government in its understanding of sedition law," Chidambaram tweeted.

"I strongly disapprove of the sanction granted to prosecute Mr Kanhaiya Kumar and others for alleged offences under sections 124A and 120B of IPC," the former home minister said.

The Delhi Police had last year filed a charge sheet at a city court against Kanhaiya Kumar and others, saying he was leading a procession and supported seditious slogans at an event in February 2016.

It also charged former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya with allegedly raising anti-India slogans during the event to commemorate the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru.

The prosecution sanction was granted nearly a year after a city court asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to take a decision within a reasonable timeframe and noted that the delay was leading to violation of the due process of law.