Hours after BSP national coordinator Akash Anand addressed an election rally at a college ground in Sitapur, police booked him for allegedly promoting hatred and enmity.
Three BSP candidates — Mahendra Yadav, Shyam Awasthi, Shyam Awasthi, and Akash Kalra — and 36 others including the organiser of the rally, Vikas Raghuvanshi, have also been named in the FIR.
SP (Sitapur) Chakresh Mishra said: “The speech was made using unparliamentary language in an attempt to incite violence among people. A case of violation of the Model Code of Conduct has been registered.”
In a purported video of the BSP rally, Akash Anand, who is the nephew of BSP chief supremo Mayawati, is heard calling the BJP government “gaddaro ki sarkar (a government of traitors)”. He is also heard urging people to hit representatives of other parties seeking votes with shoes, sticks, and slippers.
“Jahan bachhe bukhe rahein, jahan behan betiyon par atyachar ho, jahan yuva berojgar ho, jahan janta ko free ration ke naam par gulam bana di jayei. Aisi sarkar aatankwadiyo ki sarkar hoti hai. Aisi sarkar Taliban Afghanistan mai chalata hai. (Where children go hungry, where women and girls suffer abuse, where youth are jobless, and where people are exploited under the guise of free rations, the government there is of terrorists. Such a government is run by the Talibans in Afghanistan),” he said.
“…Bhajapa ki sarkar bulldozer ki sarkar nahi, yeh atankvadiyo ki sarkar hai…Aisi sarkar ka samay aagaya hai ab khatam hone ka yahan par. (The BJP government is not one of bulldozers, but of terrorists. The time has come for such a government to end,” he said.
“…Ek ek jodi chappal, ek lathi, ek ek joota nikal lijiye… vote maanne aaye usi hisab sey chappal, joota maar maar kar bata dena .. jo tumney hamarey se shiksha cheeni hai ushke badle vote nahi yeh danda milega. (Take out your slippers, sticks, and shoes. If anyone comes seeking votes, let them know that they took away our education, and now they’ll only get a stick in return),” Anand is heard saying in the clip.
The FIR has been filed under several IPC sections, including 502(2) (promoting enmity, hatred), and Section 125 of the Representation of People’s Act, said a police officer.