By Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi: An RTI application has been filed on Saturday seeking information regarding the claim made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka that he was sent to jail during the Bangladesh’s secession movement. The applicant sought the details of Modi’s arrest and charges slapped against him and a certified copy of FIR as well.
On an official visit to Dhaka, Modi said during his address at Bangladesh’s National Day programme that one of his first protests was for the freedom of Bangladesh, for which he was even sent to jail.
“I must have been 20 to 22 years old when me and my colleagues did a Satyagraha for the freedom of the people of Bangladesh,” he said at the event. “I tell this to the people of Bangladesh with great pride.” Modi said.
Contending this claim, Allahabad High Court advocate Krishna Mohan Pandey filed an application under the RTI Act of 2005 and sought information from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Advo Pandey asked three basic questions on the PM’s claim:
1: In which charges PM Modi was arrested in Satyagraha for freedom struggle of Bangladesh; also provide the certified FIR copy.
2: PM Modi was arrested and kept in which jail of India
3: PM Modi spent how many days in jail during his Satyagraha
The RTI application was sent to the Public Relation Officer of the PMO.
Reacting on the RTI application, one political observer said “let us see how the PMO replies as the PM is known for making tall claims.”
PM Modi was on a two-day visit to the country to take part in the golden jubilee celebration of Bangladesh’s independence and the birth centenary of its first President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
However, there were wide protests held in many parts of Bangladesh including Dhaka and at some places it turned violent resulting in the killing of four people in Police firing. The protestors tried to take out a march with holding placards written “killer Modi, Go back”. Perhaps, it is for the first time a protest broke out against the visit of a foreign dignitary in Bangladesh.
“PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that he participated in a satyagraha in 1971 in support of Bangladesh liberation fighters. However, this was not the first time he said so. He first made reference to this in 2015 when he was in Dhaka. The Sheikh Hasina government had conferred the Bangladesh Liberation Award on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As he was too ill to travel, Modi received the award on his behalf. In his speech, he said that he went to Delhi as part of a group of young volunteers to participate in a Jana Sangh satyagraha in support of freedom fighters in Bangladesh. The citation for Vajpayee’s award says, “Jana Sangh held a Jana Satyagraha from August 1-11 and their volunteers organised a huge rally in front of Indian Parliament House on August 12, 1971.” ” – Indian Express
Read that RTI again: “had opportunity to go to jail” meaning he could have; doesn’t say he did.
Pandey is looking for his 15minutes of fame and Muslim Mirror is only too happy to oblige.