He has been in the news for more wrong reasons than right ones. But two time AAP MLA, and former Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti wasn’t always a problem child.
An IITian-turned-lawyer-turned-politician, Bharti’s earlier stint in public service actually won him several accolades, and he did get elected twice from his constituency.
Let’s take a look back at the times when Somnath Bharti made headlines:
Saviour Lawyer
In 2009, Vikram Buddhi, a former PhD student at Perdue University found himself in a US prison, convicted for making remarks against then President George Bush. Buddhi’s father, a former Indian Navy Captain had been fighting a lone legal battle to help his son. Somnath Bharti flew to US to advocate Buddhi’s release.
Tampering of Evidence
Somnath Bharti was indicted for “tampering of evidence” in August 2013. CBI Special Judge Poonam A Bamba had pulled up Bharti and his client facing prosecution on corruption charges after the CBI accused them of influencing a prosecution witness. The Bar Council of Delhi later issued him a show-cause notice asking him to explain why his name should not be removed from the rolls for his conduct.
Drug Raid
As an MLA and Delhi government’s law minister in AAP’s first 49-day government, Bharti led a midnight raid on a private house in Khirki extension in New Delhi. He and his supporters were accused of forcing four Ugandan women to undergo medical tests to prove that they had used narcotics. The women later pressed charges of assault and criminal intimidation. Facing criticism from all sides, including from within the party, Bharti sailed through with the support of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. A judicial probe headed by Retired Additional District and Sessions Judge B L Garg found Bharti in the wrong for his conduct during the raid.
Racist Remarks
Following the raid, over 40 academicians and rights activists asked Arvind Kejriwal to take action against Somnath Bharti, alleging “racist and sexual violence” on the women who were targeted. The complaint included a video in which Bharti reportedly said “Nigerian girls and men all indulge in prostitution and drug trafficking and it is a threat to local ma, behen, beti (mothers, sisters and daughters).”
As Law Minister
In one of his first moves as a law minister, Bharti summoned all district judges in Delhi for a meeting. This met with strong opposition from law secretary AS Yadav, who felt it was improper to convene such a meeting as the judiciary was independent of the executive. Bharti accused the secretary of being loyal to the party in power then.
‘Beautiful Women’
Bharti was accused of sexism when he made a remark on ‘beautiful women’.
I am fully confident that if Delhi government is given full freedom (over security), beautiful women will be able to go out even after midnight without any fear.
— Somnath Bharti
Bharti’s Porn Connection?
In 2014, Headlines Today (now India Today) carried out an investigative report linking Somnath Bharti to a string of porn sites. The channel reported that Bharti’s IT firm was once listed as one of internet’s top spammers, which also dealt with porn sites.
Abusive Husband
The latest in Somnath’s list of controversies was a complaint by Bharti’s wife Lipika Mitra to the Delhi Commission for Women, alleging that her husband had physically and verbally abused her. She has further alleged that Bharti did not support her in taking care of their children. “Me and my children are subject to continuous physical and mental torture by my husband. There is a persistent threat to life from my husband and his supporters. This has been going on since 2010,” Mitra has alleged in her 26-page complaint. Mitra has also accused Bharti of forgery.
She had initially lodged a domestic abuse complaint in 2011 against him, with the Delhi Police Cell for crimes against women, but later withdrew that complaint.
Many quarters of the AAP are angry with Bharti, evident by their leader Arvind Kejriwal’s calling him an “embarrassment”. His latest controversy has kicked up at a time when the party is trying really hard to look like a serious administrator, and shun the anarchic image they earned during their first tenure.
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