Case against Uma for insulting Flag

Bhopal, Jan 15 (UNI) A local court today registered a case under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 against Bharatiya Jan Shakti President and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti and summoned her on February 15 for allegedly insulting the Tricolour.

Acting on a plea by Madhya Pradesh Congress Commitee General Secretary Deepchand Yadav, Chief Judicial Magistrate Ravindra Singh issued the summons.

Mr Yadav based his petition on a photograph, published in a national magazine, in which the firebrand sadhvi is shown holding the National Flag. He urged filing of a case under Section 190(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code and Section 2 of the National Honour Act.

''Ms Bharti undertook a Tiranga Yatra after vacating office as Chief Minister. At one point in that journey she held the Tricolour improperly as revealed by the photograph,'' the Congress leader later told reporters.

Mr Yadav alleged that ''political pressure'' prevented him from having a police case registered about two-and-a-half years back.

''I was hurt by the fact that Ms Bharti, who waxes eloquent about nationalism and national pride, herself insulted the National Flag,'' he claimed.

UNI