AAP MLA booked for tweet against Yogi

NOIDA: An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA was booked by the Noida sector 20 police on Sunday for allegedly defaming Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath in an objectionable tweet after a complaint was filed by a Supreme Court advocate.

The Rajinder Nagar MLA, Raghav Chadha, had on Saturday evening put up a controversial tweet on the large scale migration of daily wagers and labourers moving back to their respective hometowns from Delhi. The tweet was later removed from the lawmaker’s social media handle.

However, a Supreme Court advocate, Prashant Patel, filed a complaint against the MLA.

In his complaint to Noida police, Patel said that Chadha’s malicious and deliberate act is not only dangerous to the maintenance of law and order but will also create panic among the people who are going to their native places at this difficult time.

Therefore, action must be taken against him, said the complaint.

Following this, Chadha was booked at the sector 20 police station under sections 500 (defamation), 505 (2) (promoting enmity hatred or ill-will between classes) and section 66 (offensive messages through computer or phone) of the IT Act.

While senior officer of Noida police could not be reached for a comment, the station house officer of sector 20 police station confirmed that an FIR has been registered.

“We will take necessary legal action following a thorough investigation,” said RK Singh, SHO.

Chaotic scenes were witnessed at the Anand Vihar Inter-State Bus Terminal in Delhi. Thousands of migrant workers collected at the site, desperate to go to their respective hometowns. The sudden nationwide lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic robbed them of employment, causing a dearth of money and food. Many are believed to be headed to towns and villages in

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Yogi Adityanath government in UP arranged 1,000 buses to ferry the migrants home. Meanwhile, the Opposition criticised the government’s

preparation in implementing the lockdown.“I sent an email to the commissioner and DGP after which the FIR was filed.