Amit Shah in legal trouble over 'illegal' meeting at Goa airport

Panaji: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah landed in legal trouble on Sunday, a day after he addressed a party meeting at Goa's Dabolim International Airport premises.

A lawyer has filed a complaint alleging misuse of an airport, controlled by the Indian Navy, for political purposes.

In a complaint addressed to Secretary of Civil Aviation and Goa Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, lawyer-activist Aires Rodrigues has alleged that holding a party meeting, which was attended by over 2,000 people, was a violation of Section 141 (Unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code and put passengers at the airport to inconvenience.

"People who were arriving or departing from the airport were restrained by the blockage due to the public meeting, as also the airport being considered a security installation, no public meeting could have been held and that it also amounted to a violation of the other enactments covering vital installations like airports," the complaint reads.

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Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik has also demanded that the Civil Aviation ministry should file a FIR against Shah and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for hosting the "illegal" meeting.

"Since the land occupied by the Airport Authority of India and is operated by the ministry of Defence, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley should invoke the Defence of India Act, apart from the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and file another FIR," Naik has said in a statement issued here.

While BJP spokespersons were unwilling to comment on the issue, a party leader said the meeting, which was held on Saturday morning to welcome Amit Shah, was organised "after getting all due official clearances".

It may be mentioned here that Amit Shah is currently on a two-day visit to Goa.