Congress leader Deepak Singh booked for ‘derogatory’ remarks against union minister Smriti Irani

Former Indian National Congress MLC Deepak Singh has been booked for allegedly making ‘derogatory’ remarks against union minister Smriti Irani.

A complaint against Deepak Singh was filed by BJP activist Keshav Singh at the Gauriganj police station.

The Uttar Pradesh police said that Deepak Singh had allegedly made 'derogatory' comments about Irani during the three long protests against the closure of the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Amethi.

The Sanjay Gandhi Hospital was recently closed down by the authorities following the death of a woman there. The woman's husband claimed that she was given an overdose of anaesthesia, which worsened her condition and ultimately led to her death.

Run by the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust, Delhi, which is headed by Sonia Gandhi, the closing down of the hospital created a political storm in the area. While the Congress and the Samajwadi Party alleged that the action against the hospital was "politically motivated", the Bharatiya Janata Party said that the hospital did not have enough facilities to treat patients.

Hundreds of local Congress leaders and workers led by Deepak Singh held an indefinite satyagraha against the move, under the banner of the Amethi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti. The Sanjay Gandhi Hospital's management has decided to appeal the suspension of its licence in the Allahabad High Court.

Notably, Varun Gandhi and Congress state president Ajay Rai had written separate letters to deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak and chief minister Yogi Adityanath, requesting that the hospital be reponed again.

Meanwhile, Amethi police say that an FIR has been lodged against Congress leader Deepak Singh under IPC section 499 and section 500.

Reacting to it, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajai Rai in a statement said a fake case had been registered against Deepak Singh, while he was agitating against the order for suspension of registration of the hospital.

Deepak Singh had said in a post on X (formerly Twitter): "We the people of India are proud of our Constitution. We will conduct our programmes according to our Constitution and will put forth our views. With this Constitution, we will express our views without fear. If any Chinese, Iranian or Pakistani has any problem, we have no problem with it." The post, in Hindi, is linked above.

"Displeased (with this), the BJP people lodged an FIR against Deepak-ji. No one in the clan of fools thought that Iranian means a resident of Iran," said the UP Congress president. "Well! Where is this much intelligence? These BJP people have sold their intelligence. Whatever little intelligence is left, it is spent in such unrestrained nonsense."

"Let me once again remind the dictatorial government that every worker of the Congress Party is a lion, neither afraid nor bowing down!" Rai said on X.