'BJP harassing Teesta for highlighting egregious things done by Gujarat Govt'

New Delhi: Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan on Friday alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre is hounding Teesta Setalvad for highlighting egregious things done by the Gujarat Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was then the state`s chief minister.

"They are hounding her only because Teesta has highlighted some of the egregious things done by the Gujarat Government under Mr. Modi such as their involvement in the 2002 riots such as fakes encounters etc. Now, I am sure that she is moving the High Court against the order of the special judge and we hope and expect that the High Court will grant her anticipatory bail," Bhushan told ANI here.

Bhushan further considered her arrest against the Supreme Court`s guidelines, adding that one can`t be arrested in technical violation charges especially when the investigation is going on.

"It`s very shocking and surprising that the special judge has rejected Teesta`s anticipatory bail because the charges against her are some technical violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act(FCRA).Certainly, it`s not a case for arrest under the Supreme Court`s guidelines for arrest. You can`t arrest people during investigation on this kind of charge. The High Court had held the Congress and the BJP guilty of accepting crores of foreign donations and violations of the FCRA Act. The Central Government has not taken any action nor arrested anybody in those cases,"he added.

The Bombay High Court on Friday extended social activist Teesta Setalvad`s interim bail plea by two weeks.

The High Court`s decision came hours after a special CBI court rejected Setalvad`s bail plea in connection with the case registered by the CBI alleging that her organisation received Rs. 1.8 crore from abroad without mandatory approval from the Centre.

The CBI had on July 8 registered a case against Setalvad and her husband and subsequently raided their home and offices a week later.

The agency is probing whether Setalvad`s Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Sabrang received funding from the United States-based Ford Foundation without the government permission.