Varun faces criminal case for communal tirade

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Varun Gandhi, a member of the Gandhi-Nehru family, today fell foul of the Election Commission (EC), which directed the police to file a criminal case against the young BJP leader for allegedly making inflammatory remarks with communal overtones during an election campaign.

Gandhi, who seeks to represent the Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh, said he would hold a press conference in Delhi and show how the CD containing his speech had been tampered with.The 29-year-old BJP leader was booked for allegedly delivering speeches with an intention to create enmity among people on the basis of religion. A police team has been sent to Bareilly to arrest him.

A three-member Commission met today and discussed the speeches Gandhi made in Pilibhit. The comments drew sharp criticism from within his party and allies and outside.

The EC issued notices to the BJP and Gandhi for alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct, besides transferring district officials and suspending two for alleged dereliction of duty.

Under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code and under Section 125 of the RPA, promoting enmity between different groups on various grounds including religion is punishable by imprisonment which may extend up to three years.

Quite expectedly, the Congress came down heavily on Gandhi for his alleged inflammatory remarks. Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said the speech “is highly deplorable and deserves proper action”. But interestingly, the BJP too criticised Gandhi for his remarks with party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain taking offence at the speech, calling it “shocking”.

BJP ally and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Shivanand Tiwari said that the EC should take cognizance of Gandhi’s speech and that there should be a ‘legitimate’ inquiry.

It was the District Magistrate of Pilibhit who first issued the notice to Gandhi and not a case of suo motu recognition of the speech by the EC. If it had been the latter, the BJP may have defended Gandhi, in the context of the politics around the appointment of Naveen Chawla as CEC designate.

The BJP alleges Cahwla’s closeness to the Congress party and the Gandhi family, estranged from Varun’s mother Menaka, also an MP.