File photo: Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti in a verbal altercation with a Delhi Police official during a midnight raid in South Delhi
is under intense pressure to remove his Law Minister
Somnath Bharti, whose words and actions are becoming difficult to defend for his Aam Aadmi Party. Mr Kejriwal will meet Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung amid clamour for Mr Bharti's resignation.
The party's Yogendra Yadav apologised on an NDTV show to the BJP's Arun Jaitley and senior lawyer Harish Salve for Mr Bharti saying that he would "spit on them". He admitted that the minister's "language was not acceptable."
The AAP leader, however, argued that there was no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing by Mr Bharti during a midnight raid that he attempted last week on what he called a "sex and drug racket" involving Ugandan and Nigerian nationals in a south Delhi locality.
Mr Bharti has been accused of vigilantism, of gross racism and sexism, and of "stoking prejudices." A Ugandan woman said she has, in a court statement, identified Mr Bharti as the man who led a mob that attacked her. (
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The Congress, which offers external support to the Kejriwal government in Delhi, will meet the Lieutenant Governor today to demanded Mr Bharti's arrest and removal. The BJP too wants him sacked. And a group of academicians and rights activists have written an open letter to Mr Kejriwal explaining why Mr Bharti must go. (
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Mr Kejriwal has so far been staunch in his defense of his minister. His 33-hour demonstration in the heart of Delhi this week was centred around Mr Bharti's anger that the police in the area had refused to raid the African nationals at his behest.
The cop who told Mr Bharti that he would not conduct a raid without a search warrant has been sent on leave as part of a compromise formula to get Mr Kejriwal to call off the protest. (
Read: I was only following the law, says suspended cop who clashed with Somnath Bharti)
Mr Bharati has denied all charges.His name has not been added to a case registered by the police, but cops say it can be added in the chargesheet if an investigation throws up evidence against him.