The Uttar Pradesh Police booked Bahujan Samaj Party leader Akash Anand for promoting enmity between people after he allegedly used unparliamentary language while criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party government at a rally in Sitapur on Sunday, ANI reported.
“The speech was made using unparliamentary language in an attempt to incite violence among people,” ANI quoted Sitapur Superintendent of Police Chakresh Mishra as saying. “A case of violation of the Model Code of Conduct has been registered.”
The Model Code of Conduct is a set of guidelines issued by the poll panel for political parties, candidates and governments to follow during an election. It sets guardrails for speeches, meetings, processions, election manifestos and other aspects of the polls.
While addressing a poll rally ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Sitapur, the nephew of Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati described the BJP as a “government of traitors”, The Indian Express reported.
“Where children go hungry, where women and girls face abuse, where the youth are jobless, and where people are exploited under the guise of free rations, there is a government of terrorists,” Anand said. “Such a government is run by the Taliban in Afghanistan.”
The 28-year-old said that the BJP government was not of bulldozers but of terrorists, the newspaper reported.
“Take out your slippers, sticks, and shoes,” Anand asked voters. “If anyone comes seeking votes, let them know that they [BJP leaders] took away our education, and now they’ll only get a stick in return.”
The police have charged Anand under Section 502(2) of the Indian Penal Code that deals with offences related to promoting enmity and hatred and Section 125 of the Representation of People’s Act for promoting enmity during an election campaign, an unidentified police official told The Indian Express.
Besides Anand, the first information report names three Bahujan Samaj Party candidates and 36 others, including the organiser of the rally, the newspaper reported.
In December, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati had named Anand as her political successor during a meeting of the party’s office-bearers in Lucknow. He has been the party’s coordinator for the last four years. The party is contesting the Lok Sabha elections on its own this time.
Voting for 16 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh took place in the first two phases on April 19 and April 26. The state will vote in the next five phases between May 7 and June 1. Counting of votes will take place on June 7.
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