"Women's Panel Abused Me In Office": AAP Gujarat Chief To NDTV

Gopal Italia, the Aam Aadmi Party's Gujarat chief who was detained on Thursday for around three hours by the police over allegations that he had abused Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a 2018 video, has hit back, saying the move was politically motivated.

"I don't know why the police detained me. What was my crime? I came for questioning as a law-abiding person. Instead of hearing me out, the NCW chairperson called the police and sent me to the police station," he told NDTV, referring to being summoned by the National Commission for Women.

"This shows the entire BJP is plotting against the Patel community. They had many of us shot. They are jealous of Patidars. They want to harass me at any cost. The cops admitted they had orders from above to detain me," Mr Italia said.

"There are CCTV cameras at the office of the National Commission for Women. Show us proof how the of her life was in danger while she was sitting on the first floor and people were outside the door downstairs. Like her political boss, Rekha Sharma is also lying," he said, referring to accusations by Ms Sharma that AAP activists had tried to mob her office.

"As soon as I went inside, she started abusing me. She asked me, 'Tumhari aukad kya hai?'. She behaved very badly and abused a lot. I just left with folded hands," Mr Italia said.

Later, at a news conference, he linked the action to the elections. "They did not record my statement. They were only interested in intimidating me. This happened only because Gujarat polls are around the corner. And the Patidar community has lent its support to AAP. BJP hates the Patidar community," he said.

According to senior police officials, Mr Italia was detained after a complaint was received claiming his supporters were creating a disturbance outside the NCW building, following which a team of police reached the spot.

Reacting to police action against the AAP leader, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Italia's detention had triggered massive anger in the Patel community across Gujarat.

Taking to Twitter, the AAP chief also asked why "the entire BJP" was after Mr Italia.

Mr Kejriwal's deputy Manish Sisodia termed Italia's detention as "BJP politics" and alleged that he had been "detained because he belonged to a party that knew how to transform schools".

NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma had summoned Italia for using "abusive and indecent language" against PM Modi and said his comment was "gender biased, misogynist and condemnable".

She told reporters after the hearing that Mr Italia, in his verbal statement, had claimed that he was not the person in the video. However, in his written response, he said he did not mean it.

An NCW official said the commission had to rush to arrange a translator to record Italia's statement, as he started speaking in Gujarati in the middle of the hearing.

During the hearing, the AAP supporters protesting outside tried to enter the NCW building and police had to be called to restrain them, an official of the women's rights body said.

The BJP's IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya had on Sunday had shared a video on Twitter where Mr Italia could was purportedly heard calling PM Modi a "neech aadmi" (lowly person), triggering the NCW action.

"An indecent word for the Prime Minister is also an insult to the women of our country. The abusive language used by you is gender biased, misogynistic and extremely shameful, condemnable and unbecoming of you," the NCW had said in its summons issued on October 9.

The AAP had defended its Gujarat unit chief over his alleged remarks and hit back at the BJP, saying it was using an old video to target Mr Italia now as he hailed from a poor family and belonged to the Patidaar community.

Launching a counterattack, the AAP also shared a video which, it said, showed BJP MP Parvesh Verma using abusing Mr Kejriwal and demanded that the ruling party either clarify its stand on the remarks or act against him.