TMC's Saket Gokhale appeals for bail; says will delete tweet on PM Modi's Morbi visit

Ahmedabad: Saket Gokhale, the national spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress (TMC), filed a bail request with the Ahmedabad magistrate court on Thursday. Gokhale was detained by the Gujarat Police on Tuesday as a result of a tweet on PM Narendra Modi's visit to Morbi, where a bridge collapse in October claimed the lives of over 130 people.

Majeed Memon, a lawyer and former Rajya Sabha member, argued for bail before the court, saying that Gokhale was prepared to delete his tweet and that he had only retweeted an earlier message asking for accountability of public funds as a concerned citizen.

On December 1, the Ahmedabad cyber unit filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Gokhale in response to a complaint from Bhalabhai Kothari, who the police describe as a "senior BJP functionary who was disturbed by Gokhale's tweet." Gokhale cited screenshots of tweets from a person named Dax Patel, apparently from false news sources, in which he claimed that Modi's visit to Morbi following the bridge collapse cost Rs 30 crore.

The police were given custody of Gokhale on Tuesday by Ahmedabad Additional Magistrate MV Chauhan. Gokhale moved for bail before the magistrate court because the police were not requesting any additional remand, Indian Express reported.

When the court asked Gokhale if he had any concerns on Thursday, Gokhale responded that his heart problem was the cause of "a little bit of breathlessness." According to Memon, Gokhale had recently undergone bypass surgery and was experiencing cardiac problems; his doctor had advised him not to drive for an extended length of time. He was "detained" in Jaipur at odd hours while en route to the Ajmer Dargah and transported by automobile to Ahmedabad over a 10-hour drive, which according to Memon was "endangering his life".

"Assuming an exaggerated version has come in the tweet, it is only (with an intention of) constructive criticism by a citizen…It is public money and every citizen has a right to ask…What I have done, I picked up a tweet that was already there," submitted Memon. Memon further added that now that it has come to light that the news was fake, Gokhale is "ready to delete the tweet immediately" and ready to cooperate with the investigation in any manner that may be required.

"I've committed no crime, have a clean record, should not have been arrested at all and ready to cooperate with police," submitted Memon.