Drop charges of insulting tricolour against leaders: Congress

RAIPUR - The Congress in Chhattisgarh Monday urged police to drop charges against two of its state leaders who have been booked for cutting a cake designed like the national flag to mark party president Sonia Gandhi’s birthday Dec 9.

A party delegation met Raipur police chief Dipanshu Kabra and requested him to drop a written police complaint against two party leaders - state general secretary Subhash Sharma and Raipur city unit president Inderchand Dhariwal, who are facing arrest under section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.

The complaint against the Congress leaders was registered after local dailies carried photographs of the Congress leaders cutting the tri-coloured cake at the state party headquarters Thursday.

“We told the police officer that complaint is not based on facts… the two leaders had cut a multi-coloured cake that was not actually designed like the national flag. But despite this, we have already regretted the issue and urged the officer that it should be now closed,” state Congress spokesman Ramesh Varlyani told reporters.

Chhattisgarh’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has been pressing for immediate action against the two.