A minister in Rajasthan was booked on Monday after a video purportedly showed him invoking voters’ religion to seek votes. The minister, Dhan Singh Rawat, was booked under Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, which deals with promoting enmity between two groups in the context of elections, PTI reported. Rawat holds the rural development portfolio in the state cabinet.
The video, allegedly from a public meeting in Banswara district on Saturday, showed the Bharatiya Janata Party leader saying: “If Muslims can vote unitedly for Congress, then all Hindus can also unite and go with the BJP and make it win with a thumping majority.”
He said the BJP was a “protector” of the “traditional culture” of India and called the Congress a “party of Muslims”. Assembly elections in Rajasthan will be held on December 7.
The district election department filed a First Information Report against the minister, State Chief Electoral Officer Anand Kumar said. An investigation is under way.
State BJP chief Madan Lal Saini and his deputy Avinash Rai Khanna said the party does not discriminate on the basis of caste and religion.
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