'Modi govt has turned India's democracy into Hitlership': Congress chief on Pawan Khera's arrest

Slamming the arrest of Congress leader Pawan Khera by Assam police at the Delhi airport Thursday for his alleged insult of PM Modi during a press conference he had held recently, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Modi government has turned India's democracy into a Hitlership.

In a Tweet he posted soon after Khera's arrest, Kharge said, "Notice is given if the opposition raises issues in Parliament. ED raids are conducted on our leaders of Chhattisgarh before the General Assembly. Today the media chairman was forcibly taken off the plane and arrested. The Modi government has turned India's democracy into a Hitlership. We strongly condemn this dictatorship."

Earlier Thursday, the Congress Spokesperson was taken off an IndiGo flight to Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur while he, along with several other Congress leaders, was on his way to attend a meeting of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

High voltage drama at Delhi airport

Soon after his arrest, nearly 50 leaders launched an unprecedented protest on the tarmac beside the airplane, refusing to let the flight take off.

While being whisked away by the Assam police, Khera told media, "We will see (in which case they are taking me). It's a long battle and I'm ready to fight,"

All FIRs to be clubbed

But Khera breathed a sigh of relief after the Supreme Court granted interim bail to him. Further, the SC issued notice to Assam and UP Police on Khera's plea seeking to club all FIRs against him. SC says, till the next date of hearing,the petitioner will be released on interim bail by Dwarka court.

Why was Pawan Khera arrested?

The FIR filed against Khera by a BJP leader is based on a recent press conference where Khera fumbled PM Modi’s name while demanding a joint parliamentary probe into the alleged manipulation of stocks by the Adani Group.

During the press conference, Khera said, "If Narasimha Rao could form a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee), if Atal Bihari Vajpayee could form a JPC, then what problem does Narendra Gautam Das...sorry Damodardas...Modi have?"