Ahmedabad:
When he pulled out a large rifle at a toll booth plaza in Gujarat, Congress MP Vitthalbhai Radadiya said that he had acted in self-defence. He repeated the same explanation today as he applied for anticipatory bail in a court in Vadodara today, which was rejected. The court today upheld the police contention that since the Cong MP had a 16 criminal cases pending against him and could not be given the bail. A case has been filed against him for rioting and branding a weapon in public. Mr Radadiya has also refused to apologise.
Last week, security cameras in Vadodara showed Mr Radadiya getting out of his car, brandishing his weapon at the toll booth attendant. Members of parliament are exempt from paying toll. When the attendant refused to accept a photocopy of Mr Radidya's parliamentary ID and asked for the original, the MP pulled out his gun. He told NDTV, "They said I was a bogus MP. I am an MP, I deserve respect."
Mr Radadiya also claimed that 15 security guards and employees of the toll booth concessionaire had surrounded him, making him feel threatened. Security camera footage does not support this claim.
He accuses the BJP government of trying to malign him ahead of the elections in the state, scheduled for December.