Zee Media Bureua
New Delhi: BJP leader Vijay Jolly who was involved in defacing nameplate of Tehelka`s former Managing Editor Shoma Chaudhury`s house claimed on Satuday that he was being targeted at the behest of Congress party.
Jolly felt the complaint filed against him was part of a political conspiracy and said, “I am being politically victimised. On the direction of a central minister I have been interrogated for more than 6 hours.”
The Delhi BJP leader said he had nothing against Chaudhury and said, “My protest was against Tehelka and not against a woman journalist. Congress is targeting me.”
Jolly has to appear before Saket police station again on Saturday in order to get his statement recorded in the matter.
Police registered a case of rioting, wrongful restrain and defacement against Jolly and his supporters and a notice under section 160 of CrPC was issued to him to appear at the police station.
Congress on the other hand launched a sharp attack on Jolly saying his action represents the culture of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"BJP should take action against Jolly, if it is truly apologetic over the incident. Jolly is infact representing the culture of BJP," party general secretary in-charge for Delhi Shakeel Ahmed told reporters.
Congress spokesperson Meem Afzal said that "This is very old temperament of BJP. Their behaviour with media is not new. How many times that party will seek apology?"
He said Jolly had maintained that he was very angry over the Tehelka sexual assault case but it is "surprising that his anger over the exploitation of a woman was vented on a woman itself and that woman, who had stepped down from Tehelka in the morning itself."
Afzal said that "defacing someone`s nameplate is tantamount to defacing the person itself" and Jolly`s act of defacing the woman journalist as such reflects the temperament of the BJP leadership.
"Jolly seems to be very educated. He had contested against the Congress Chief Minister. BJP then must have fielded him from that seat considering him a senior and seasoned leader.
"He is also chairman of some foreign affair cell within the BJP. What good diplomacy, he would have maintained outside the country, when he is doing the same within the country. People of Delhi will reply by their vote whether they have accepted the apology of Jolly or not," Afzal said.
Jolly had led BJP workers in the protest demanding Shoma`s immediate arrest for allegedly trying to cover up sexual harassment complaint filed against the magazine`s Editor Tarun Tejpal by a woman journalist.
The protesters not only painted the word `accused` on Chaudhury`s nameplate, some of them also went on to surround and jostle the journalist as she was leaving her house.
The incident received wide condemnation and BJP distanced itself from the protesters with senior party leader Sushma Swaraj saying their act was "not civilised."
