Congress leader: How can addl solicitor general defend Ramdev?

› How can a government lawyer appear for a private citizen? Is Ramdev above law? The BJP made a lot of noise when the Delhi government paid money to a lawyer defending Kejriwal.

SUBHASH BATRA, Congress leader

ROHTAK: FORMER state home minister and Congress leader Subhash Batra, who filed a sedition case against yoga guru Ramdev for his beheading remark during a rally in Rohtak in 2016, has questioned why additional solicitor general of India Satya Pal Jain was defending him in the court.

Jain had appeared for Ramdev after a Rohtak court had issued non-bailable warrants against him. But Jain filed a review appeal in the higher court and got stay orders on the warrants.

“How can a government-paid lawyer appear for a private citizen? Is this to make it clear that Ramdev is above law under this government?” Batra said while addressing a press conference here.

The next date of hearing in the case is July 11 when arguments over framing of charges against Ramdev will be taken up.

“The BJP made a lot of noise when the Delhi government paid money from the treasury to a lawyer defending CM Arvind Kejriwal in defamation case. What is this now?” questioned Batra.

Ramdev, who has been made the brand ambassador of Haryana by the BJP government, had courted controversy in April 2016, by saying he could “behead lakhs of people refusing to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai if he were not bound by law.”

He was addressing a ‘Sadbhawna Sammelan’ in Rohtak that was organised to promote peace in Haryana, which had witnessed unprecedented violence during the Jat stir in February 2016.

The yoga guru in his address at the sammelan was allegedly responding to All India Majlis-eittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaddudin Owaisi’s statement, who had said that he would not chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai even if a knife was put to his throat.

A day after Ramdev’s statement, Batra had lodged a complaint against Ramdev with the police.

However, when the police did not act, Batra approached the court to take action against Ramdev.