Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Taking fight to the Election Commission, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday demanded an action not only against Congress candidate in Saharanpur Imran Masood but also the Congress Party.
Besides seeking action against Congress, the BJP has also sought EC`s intervention for providing adequate protection to its senior leaders during election campaigning.
The BJP delegation including party vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, general secretary JP Nadda and spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman met the EC and drew its attention to the inflammatory speech made by Masood in which he allegedly threatened to "chop" Narendra Modi "into pieces".
"This is not the first time Congress is indulging in such practices violating model code of conduct. There are more than two dozens violations committed by the Congress," Naqvi said after meeting the EC here.
Accusing Congress of "Taliban mentality", he said, "The inflammatory speech at Saharanpur by Masood has vitiated atmosphere not only in UP but in the entire country. This is a sign of Taliban mentality and frustration of the Congress."
He alleged that this was a preplanned and concerted effort by Congress as its leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, had been violating model code of conduct.
So, we have demanded suitable and strong action against Congress as per the law, he said.
The BJP also raised the issue of security concern for its senior leaders.
"Intelligence and other agencies have repeatedly said that some forces are trying to disrupt the atmosphere during the election. We expressed our concern about the security for our senior leaders. We asked EC to issue advisories to all states to take adequate security for our senior leaders," Naqvi said.
In a blow to the BJP, the Election Commission, however, earlier in the day reportedly said Masood did not violate any guidelines formulated by the institution, as he made the speech months back, before the Model Code of Conduct came into effect.
The development came hours after the Congress candidate from Saharanpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh was arrested and produced before a court for his hate speech against BJP`s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
The Congress candidate, however, said he has no remorse for making the remark.
"It is all BJP`s plotting. I don`t have any remorse as I did no wrong. I will not apologise either to Narendra Modi or to the BJP," Masood, who had yesterday expressed regret for his remarks, told reporters.
The Congress leader was produced before the Deoband court amidst heavy security as his supporters created chaos outside the court.
Masood`s video was surfaced on Thursday, showing him threatening Modi.
The comment - “Hum Modi ki kutti kaat denge (We will chop Modi into pieces)” - made by Masood evoked sharp reactions from within political circles.
"If Modi tries to make Uttar Pradesh into Gujarat, then we will chop him into tiny pieces...I am not scared of getting killed or attacking someone. I will fight against Modi. He thinks UP is Gujarat. Only 4% Muslims are there in Gujarat while there are 42% Muslims in UP," he is seen saying in the video.
(With PTI inputs)
