Union Minister John Barla gets bail for holding bike rally during code of conduct in elections

Kolkata: After an arrest warrant was issued against Union Minister and BJP MP John Barla, he surrendered in Tufanganj court on Saturday, and, got bail against a Rs. 500 personal bond.

Barla told the media that he has been the victim of "political vendetta."

"If I have taken out a bike rally, it is said to be illegal, but those who have cast fake votes are not considered to be illegal. TMC cannot escape like this," said Barla.

The court had asked Barla to reappear before it on February 9.

It may be recalled that on Friday, an arrest warrant was issued against Barla by the Tufanganj District Magistrate Court for allegedly breaking the model code of conduct of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

A bike rally violated model code of conduct

According to public prosecutor Sanjay Burman, on April 4, 2019, a bike rally was taken out by Barla, was held by the then BJP MP candidate from Alipurduar, from the premises of the BDO office, which violated the model code of conduct of the election.

"After a case was filed against four people, including Barla, the Tufanganj sent a summons to Barla and asked him to be present before the court on November 15. After Barla or anyone on his behalf didn’t appear before the court, the arrest warrant was issued," said the public prosecutor.

Apart from Barla, an arrest warrant was issued by Alipurduar court on November 14 against another Union Minister, Nisith Pramanick, for his alleged involvement in a burglary case in two jewellery shops in Alipurduar in 2009.