Asim Sarode, a lawyer from Pune, plans to help Amol Shinde, a youngster from Latur, Maharashtra who has been arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the security breach at Parliament.
Shinde (25), a job seeker, is from Zari Budruk village in Chakur tehsil in the district of Latur. Sarode clarified that although Amol’s actions were wrong, the circumstances that made him do this need to be heard.
“I believe that Amol Shinde and others involved in entering the Parliament and using smoke canisters have done wrong as the Parliament is a symbol of pride and elected members across India sit there.. they should be punished for that but the law provisions being charged against them are wrong I feel, that’s why I’ll stand with Amol Shinde and help him in legal aid,” Sarode said while talking to media.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Advocate Asim Sarode says, "I believe that Amol Shinde and others involved in entering the Parliament and using smoke canisters have done wrong as the Parliament is a symbol of pride and elected members across India sit there…they should be punished for that… pic.twitter.com/znmIxfui9M
— ANI (@ANI) December 15, 2023
“I will see whether the charges under the FIR are right or not…What Amol Shinde and others tried to bring forward is the issue of unemployment and inflation,” he added.
Amol’s mother Kesarbai and father Dhanraj Shinde meanwhile stated in Latur that they had no idea what had gone wrong. Santosh and Rahul, his brothers, are equally clueless. However, Amol’s parents acknowledged experiencing financial strain.
“He wanted to go to Latur for further studies for preparations (for recruitment in armed forces and police). However, we were not able to support him financially,” they said.
It is important to note that Advocate Asim Sarode who has extended legal aid to the accused who jumped into the Parliament on 13th December and smoke-attacked the ongoing Parliament session, has been an ardent supporter of Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi.
He had earlier participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra and had showered praises for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. “Uniting people is very difficult but dividing them is easy…. Rahul Gandhi talks about uniting hearts, he talks about uniting India… We love India and that is why we are with Rahul Gandhi!” he said as he shared a video of his participation in the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul Gandhi.
जोडना बहोत मुश्किल और तोडना आसान होता है…. राहुल गांधी मनोको जोडने की बात करते है, भारत जोडने की बात करते है….. हमारा भारत देश पे प्यार है और इसलीये हम राहुल गांधी के साथ है! #भारतजोडोयात्रा #राहुलगांधी @varungandhi80 @RahulGandhi #asimsarode pic.twitter.com/fncp9tTybT
— Asim Sarode (@AsimSarode) January 6, 2023
Notably, he had also extended his support to Gandhi when he was reinstated in the Parliament as the Wayanad MP after the Supreme Court’s relief in the Modi surname defamation case. “The parliament will see the high voltage discussions around valid questions again as a man with democratic values Rahul Gandhi will be back in action. If he is a ‘pappu’ then let the ‘pappa’ show the courage to remain present in the Parliament and answer the questions being raised by him,” Sarode was quoted as saying.
Further, when CM Eknath Shinde and 39 other MLAs ‘rebelled’ against the then-MVA government, seven citizens filed a PIL demanding action against Shinde and other rebel MLAs saying that they had caused political turmoil and instigated internal disorder. Advocate Asim Sarode who was representing the seven citizens was slammed by the Bombay High Court for filing ‘an absolutely politically induced litigation.’
The petitioners were fined Rs 1 lakh while the court said Prima facie, “We are of the view that this is a politically induced litigation. The petitioners have not made requisite research. We direct the petitioners to deposit Rs 1 lakh as security within two weeks.”
Also in the year 2021 whenIndia was facing the second wave of COVID-19, Sarode had made anti-Hindu statements targeting the organization of the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. Sarode made statements targeting the Hindu community and said that the Kumb Mela would escalate the spread of Corona virus. Reportedly, Hindus then happened to counter the statements made by Sarode saying that Kumbh Mela was an age-old tradition and an old religious practice. To this, Sarode had raged controversy saying that it was Akbar who began the Kumbh Mela and that he was the first one to take the religious bath so it was called ‘Shahi Snan’.
Meanwhile, it has also come to the fore that Sarode has connections with Teesta Setalvad, a controversial ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad, who is known for the fabrication of evidence in cases concerning the 2002 Gujarat riots. “Adv Asim Sarode, (offering to defend those involved in the breach), an active participant in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is also associated with Teesta Setalwad,” BJP spokesperson Suresh Nakhua said on X.
Teesta Setalwad link emerges to the breach of Parliament security !!!
— Suresh Nakhua (सुरेश नाखुआ) 🇮🇳 (@SureshNakhua) December 15, 2023
Adv Asim Sarode, (offering to defend those involved in the breach), an active participant in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is also associated with Teesta Setalwad. pic.twitter.com/dweLGbrYQE
As reported earlier, on December 13th, in a major security breach in the Parliament, two men jumped into the Lok Sabha well from the visitors’ gallery while the proceedings were ongoing. A video from the Lok Sabha showed the members of Parliament assaulting one of the two perpetrators who burst into the chamber during proceedings and tossed canisters emitting yellow smoke. The MPs could also be seen plucking the hair of the intruder, hurling shoes at him, and landing punches at him before encircling him.
In the latest update to the case, the Delhi Police on Thursday (14th December) arrested all four accused who launched a smoke attack in the Parliament.
According to the Delhi Police, the accused persons had purchased special shoes from Lucknow and canisters from Mumbai. This was a well-planned conspiracy and attack on the Parliament of India.
Police lawyers further submitted that the accused carried a pamphlet and declared Prime Minister Modi as a missing person and said the person who found him would be paid with money from the Swiss Bank.
The accused persons showed the Prime Minister like a proclaimed offender. Police informed the court that it had registered the FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and had also added sections of stringent 16 (terrorism) and 18 (conspiracy for terrorism) of the UAPA Act.
Meanwhile, police sources on Thursday (14th December) said the four persons arrested in connection with the security breach in Parliament have taken common responsibility for the incident, adding that they were giving “rote answers” to the investigation team of the Delhi Police Special Cell in the matter.
