Guj AAP chief says ‘Rs 830 cr spent on Mann Ki Baat,’ faces FIR

New Delhi: The Ahmedabad Police have slapped a complaint against Aam Aadmi Party's Gujarat president Isudan Gadhvi for tweeting – and subsequently deleting it -- that the Centre has spent ₹ 830 crore of the taxpayers' money on 100 episodes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' radio broadcast. 

The police said on Monday that the FIR against Gadhvi was lodged on Saturday after it was found that his claim in the Twitter post had no relevant data to support it. 

Tweet deleted

While the tweet has been deleted by the AAP leader, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was harassing its leaders through such "false" FIRs.

The 100th episode of Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' radio address was broadcast on Sunday (April 30) in India as well as in several countries abroad.

Gadhvi had on April 28 tweeted that, “One episode of Mann Ki Baat costs ₹ 8.3 crore! Which means that the Centre has spent ₹ 830 crore on 100 episodes so far. This is too much. BJP workers should register their protest, because mostly they listen to this programme.”

Following this, the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch filed an FIR against Gadhvi on April 29 (Saturday) under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime, JM Yadav told a press conference.

The case was lodged under Indian Penal Code’s Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 500 (defamation), 505(1)(b)and(c) (publishing rumour or report with intent to cause fear or alarm to the public, or inciting people to commit an offence against the state or against public tranquility) and 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes).

“Police are the complainant on behalf of the government. The FIR was registered on April 29 at the Cyber Crime Branch after it was found that Gadhvi had tweeted against 'Mann Ki Baat' without any reliable data to back his claim. We will gather evidence and then proceed further. He has not been arrested yet,” Yadav said.

Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check

A day later, on Sunday, the Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check Twitter handle tagged a screenshot of Gadhvi's tweet, to state that his claim of ₹ 830 crore being spent on the broadcast was "misleading".

"This Claim is Misleading. ₹ 8.3 cr is the total figure of ads for Mann ki Baat till said date, not for a single episode. (Gadhvi’s) Tweet assumes each episode is supported by ads. Which is false," the PIB Fact Check tweeted.

AAP's national joint secretary and former Gujarat party chief Gopal Italia claimed the case against Gadhvi was registered on false charges.

He wondered, “Gadhvi has been booked over a tweet. This shows how the BJP fears AAP. The BJP and its government have repeatedly lodged false FIRs against us to stop and break us. But we will continue to fight," said Italia.