Can't hold person down for using metaphors: Cong on UPCC vice-president Imran Masood

The Congress Party on Wednesday defended its decision of appointing Imran Masood, who threatened to 'chop' Narendra Modi 'into pieces', as the Uttar Pradesh Congress committee vice president, saying that a person cannot be held down for the metaphors they speak.

"Metaphors, these are metaphors and you cannot hold a person down for metaphors they speak and I am sure that he has been given guidance and counseling as far as this is concerned and I don't believe that you would have heard something similar since then, " Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid told ANI.

During the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Saharanpur, Masood, had said that he will "chop" Narendra Modi, then the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, into pieces and was subsequently arrested and was jailed.

Masood, 40, was arrested on the basis of a video clipping that went viral on the web. The clipping showed threatening to "chop Narendra Modi to pieces", igniting a new political controversy prior to next month's general election.

He is now facing criminal charges for his hate speech, though he maintains that he never threatened to kill Modi, but only to teach him a lesson.

The grand old party had yesterday appointed senior party leader Raj Babbar as its state president in Uttar Pradesh. Party leaders Raja Ram Pal, Rajesh Mishra, Bhagwati Prasad and Imran Masood have been appointed senior vice presidents.

Outgoing state chief Nirmal Khatri will head the state screening committee.

Hitting hard at the Congress Party, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sambit Patra tweeted, " "So Congress rewards the "Boti-Boti" man of Uttar Pradesh Imran Masood with the post of UPPC Vice President!Reflects the mind set of Congress."

The 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections will serve as a litmus test for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP looks optimistic of repeating its performance of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in this state, which sends maximum MPs to the Parliament.

It is to be noted here that the BJP had won 71 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014.

The Congress, which is making all efforts to re-establish its political stronghold in Uttar Pradesh in the assembly polls, managed to win just two seats of Gandhi family bastion of Amethi and Rae Bareilly in the general election.