Patna, Feb 17 (IANS) Following Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's allegedly derogatory remarks on the people of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, a criminal case was filed against him in a court in Bihar's Muzaffarpur and an application moved in a Patna police station on Thursday.
Social activist Tammannah Hashmi filed a plea under various sections of the Indian Penal Code in Muzaffarpur and the CJM's court has admitted the case.
"Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi insulted the people of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. His statement has hurt the sentiments of these states. Hence, I have filed an application against him in the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court. It is accepted by the court. The next hearing of this case will be on February 24," Hashmi said.
The BJP's youth wing came forward to file a FIR in Patna as well. Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Vice President Manish Singh moved an application in Kadam Kuan police station to register an FIR against Channi.
"We have strongly demanded legal action against the Punjab Chief Minister. He should apologize for his derogatory remark on the people of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi," Singh said.
BJP OBC Morcha national General Secretary and Bihar BJP spokesperson Dr Nikhil Anand said: "The statement of Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi shows the regional and casteist bias which is hardcore ingrained in the Congress culture. Interestingly, when Channi was abusing the people of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, (Congress General Secretary) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was laughing shamelessly enjoying the slant on Purvanchal. We condemn the statement of Channi and demand an apology from Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi."
"The state of Punjab will economically collapse if the people of Bihar and UP go on 100 per cent strike. The cultural inheritance of Guru Gobind Singh ji, Sant Kabir and Ravidas ji belongs to the land of Bihar-UP. The state of Punjab will be culturally and economically uprooted if it discards Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. People of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh will keep teaching lessons to Congress till the time it loses the status of a national party," he added.
Channi has claimed that his statement was twisted by opposition parties and media.
"My statement was against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, (and AAP leaders) Durgesh Pathak and Sanjay Singh who came from outside and creating disturbance. My statement is not for common people of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan who come to Punjab for work. Their contribution in the making of Punjab is immense and I have great respect for them," Channi said in a video statement.
"We all are migrant people and we have equal rights on the lands of Punjab. A large number of Punjabi people are also working in other states and in other countries," Channi said.
The electronic conversation took place as US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that India will receive Covid vaccines directly from the US stockpile, the White House said.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General M.M. Naravane, reached Kashmir on Wednesday on a two-day visit to review the prevailing security situation in the Union Territory (UT), the army said in a statement.
"There have been several unfounded media reports that have peddled misinformation among the masses regarding this exercise of national importance," a ministry statement said, adding that the total number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the country so far stand at 21,85,46,667.
The Congress said that it was "appropriate for our initial statement to note that the intrusion by Israeli forces into the Holy Al Aqsa mosque during Ramzan prayers had ruptured the delicate peace in the region".
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday suggested the young patients should be prioritised in the distribution of Liposomal Amphotericin B drug, used for treating black fungus, "as they hold promise of future over the older ones who have lived their lives".
