"It Shows The Frustration Of BJP": Ashok Gehlot On Pawan Khera's Arrest

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday condemned the deplaning of Congress leader Pawan Khera from a Raipur-bound flight and his subsequent arrest by the Assam Police, saying it reflects the "frustration" of the BJP.

Mr Khera, who was on his way to Raipur for the Congress plenary, was deplaned and arrested by the Assam Police in connection with his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera was taken off the flight by the Assam Police while going from Delhi to participate in the Raipur Congress session. What was the emergency that the Assam Police came to Delhi and did this?" Mr Gehlot said in a tweet.

"First the Enforcement Directorate raids in Raipur and now such an act show the frustration of the BJP. This is condemnable," he said.

Mr Khera moved the Supreme Court against his arrest. The Supreme court granted him interim bail and protection from arrest till February 28.

Other Congress leaders also targeted the ruling BJP at the Center over this episode. Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra tweeted, "The arrest of Pawan Kheda by the autocratic Modi government and preventing him from going to the Congress session is the height of dictatorship."

Former Deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot tweeted, "The manner in which Pawan Khera was taken off flight and arrested is condemnable. First, the ED action in Chhattisgarh and now such an undemocratic act. The country is watching the central government strangle democracy."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)