Robert Vadra also alleged that the BJP was behind bringing Dera Sacha Sauda chief and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal out of jail to campaign in the Haryana Assembly elections and its aim was to damage the Congress’s prospects.
Protests have started against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim, who is serving a sentence on charges of sexual exploitation and murder, getting parole for 20 days just before the Haryana Assembly elections. Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee has written a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner objecting to the grant of parole to Ram Rahim and urged the Commission that his release from jail at this time would be a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. The Election Commission has given approval to grant parole to Ram Rahim. This will be his 11th parole in the last two years.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s husband Robert Vadra also alleged on Tuesday that the BJP was behind bringing Dera Sacha Sauda chief and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal out of jail to campaign in the Haryana Assembly elections. Its aim is to harm the prospects of Congress. Vadra also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders for allegedly using his name in a “derogatory manner”.
He told PTI, “When before the elections they release Baba Ram Rahim, who has been accused of murder, rape, for 20 days and you (BJP) release him to campaign… I would say That Kejriwal ji is also brought out of jail at this very time so that he can campaign in Haryana, I think this is a pre-planned plan of BJP. Vadra expressed confidence that people in Haryana will vote for Congress and it will be elected in the elections. Will get ‘overwhelming majority’.
Apart from the Congress party, a journalist’s son has also objected to Rahim’s release. That journalist was murdered. Ram Rahim and three others were convicted for this murder also. The son of the deceased journalist said that releasing Ram Rahim is a violation of democratic values and fair elections as he “can influence voting by sending messages to benefit a particular party.
It is noteworthy that Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim was released from jail on parole for 20 days only last month. This time the government sent the file to the Election Commission after which the Election Commission approved the conditional parole. In 2017, the court had convicted Gurmeet Singh of raping two of his female students and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment. The Dera chief and three others were also convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago.
Ram Rahim is considered a widespread supporter in Haryana as well as Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Haryana is ruled by BJP and assembly voting is to be held here on Saturday. Congress alleges that Ram Rahim is being given parole with the intention of influencing the voting. There is expected to be a tough fight between Congress and BJP in the current elections. Voting for the assembly elections in Haryana will be held on October 5 and counting of votes will take place on October 8.
