Arvind Kejriwal's words against PM Narendra Modi could spread disharmony, Delhi court told

NEW DELHI: An advocate, who has filed a criminal complaint against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly using "defamatory and seditious" words against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today argued in a Delhi court that the AAP chief's statements could spread disharmony.

Seeking Kejriwal's prosecution under sections 124A (sedition) and 500 (defamation) of the IPC, the advocate alleged that "seditious intention" was there in the remarks which spread "hatred and contempt" against the Prime Minister.

"It was unfortunate that personal interest of a person was prevailing over national interest. The statement of Kejriwal could spread disaffection and disharmony in the country. It was the political rivalry between Kejriwal and Modi which was existing since elections," advocate Anupam Dwivedi, who appeared for complainant and lawyer Pradeep Dwivedi, argued.

Metropolitan Magistrate Jagminder Singh after hearing the arguments fixed the matter for February 26 for clarifications.

Seeking to justify his locus in filing the plea, the counsel said "being a citizen of India, I am aggrieved by the comments of Kejriwal and competent to file a complaint in a case where statements were made against the Prime Minister of the country."

The complainant alleged that when CBI had raided the Chief Minister's Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar's Delhi Secretariat office on December 15 last year, Kejriwal made offensive remarks on his Twitter account against Modi.

"Being fully aware of the autonomy and independence of the CBI, the accused (Kejriwal) owing to his personal interest and political enmity, made some offending remarks on his Twitter account towards the Prime Minister of this country, just because of the said raid by the CBI," the complaint said.

"On December 15, 2015, the accused posted the remarks on his Twitter account which reads as, 'Modi is a coward and a psychopath'. The remarks were made against the democratically elected Prime Minister of the largest democracy of the world," it said.

The complainant alleged that Kejriwal had "intentionally" used defamatory words with a view to spreading a sense of "hatred and contempt" towards the Prime Minister.