Complaint against minister for ‘defaming’ Allahabad

A complaint was filed against union minister of state for communication Manoj Sinha in a court here on Saturday for allegedly using an objectionable word for Allahabad city during an event at Swatantrata Bhavan of the BHU on June 28.

Advocate Premprakash Singh Yadav filed the complaint in court of additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM)-Ninth. The court accepted the complaint and fixed July 13 as the next date of hearing. In his complaint, Yadav said Sinha, while quoting Hindi litterateur Dharamvir Bharati, commented that Allahabad ‘Bada Haramzada Shahar Hai’.

The statement was delivered with an intention to insult Bharati and his ideas.

The statement hurt sentiments of his family, progressive writers, social activists and fans of Bharati, the complainant alleged. Yadav said he would continue his legal fight in this connection.

Meanwhile, Sinha expressed regret about his statement on his facebook wall.

“A set of two commemorative postage stamps on BHU was issued in Swatantrata Bhavan, BHU. Quoting a context of Dharamvir Bharati by me has given birth to an unnecessary controversy. Uska sandarbha haas-parihaas ka tha. This (haasparihas) has been taking place between BHU vice chancellor Prof GC Tripathi and me in our personal relations for long,” he said.

“Allahabad city is a centre of faith. It is known as ‘Teerthraj’. Allahabad University is known as Oxford of the East. I have huge respect for Allahabad. I can’t think of making any derogatory remark on Allahabad even in dream, let alone in reality. Dharamvir Bharatiji has been a shining star of Hindi literature. I have huge respect for him,” Sinha wrote.

“It is difficult for me to understand his whole literary work as I have neither been a student of literature nor do I have that much comprehension. In spite of all that, if anyone’s sentiments have been hurt (by quoting), I want to clarify that I didn’t have any such intention,” he wrote.