Pilibhit: Varun Gandhi got bail in both hate speech cases on bonds of Rs 20,000 each, but he will have to stay in jail because of National Security Act invoked against him by Mayawati government.
Security had been stepped up outside Pilibhit court ahead of Varun's bail hearing, a bus-load of Rapid Action Force was stationed in Pilibhit as the administration did not take any chances.
Maintaining silence through the Varun Gandhi arrest drama that played out in Pilibhit on Saturday, the Mayawati government slapped the National Security Act on the BJP campaigner late on Sunday night for inciting communal tension. The DM of Pilibhit informed Gandhi who spent the weekend in jail that he had been booked under NSA.
Under the NSA, the young Gandhi can be held without trial for up to a year, beginning with an initial three-month detention.
The NSA against Varun was a pre-emptive move to keep him in custody even if he got bail in other cases as there is no provision of bail under the National Security Act.
Meanwhile, Varun Gandhi's mother Maneka Gandhi has accused the Congress and BSP of joining hands against her son.
She also said that invoking National Security Act against Varun is dangerous for the country.