Congress candidate Imran Masood arrested for 'Chop Modi' remark

Imran Masood, the Congress Party candidate who was to contest elections from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, has been arrested for his 'hate speech' against BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi made recently.

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.

A First Information Report (FIR) accuses him of violating the model code of conduct (MCC), but it is not clear when and where the comments were made. Local police said they received the video CD on Thursday.

Masood claims he spoke those words eight months ago, when he was with the Samajwadi Party.

The scandal has erupted ahead of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's rally in Saharanpur on Saturday.

The Congress has condemned Masood's remarks, but has not cancelled Gandhi's rally.

Party general secretary Digvijaya Singh has said punitive action will be taken against Masood.

Modi, 64, is contesting his first parliamentary election from Varanasi.