Ban Home Minister Amit Shah, UP CM Yogi Adityanath from campaigning in Karnataka: Congress to EC
New Delhi, Apr 28: The Congress urged the Election Commission (EC) on Friday to ban Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from campaigning for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls for their alleged derogatory statements against the minority community that create an atmosphere of communal disharmony.
A delegation of Congress leaders, including Abhishek Singhvi, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Mukul Wasnik, met the chief election commissioner and the election commissioners, and requested the poll panel to ensure a level-playing field in the southern state.
The Congress will also seek all legal options with regard to the "vishkanya" remark made against former party chief Sonia Gandhi by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Karnataka on Friday.
The delegation alleged that Shah and Adityanath made "false", "partisan" and "communal" statements during the poll campaign in Karnataka with a view to seek electoral gains, and said they should be banned from campaigning in the state.
The Congress accused Shah and Adityanath of trying to create an atmosphere of communal disharmony in Karnataka by circulating unverified, false, malicious and communally-charged allegations in their poll speeches.
The opposition party said the EC should immediately take action against the two leaders.
"The ECI should impose a clear and complete ban on Mr Amit Shah from all campaign activities till the conclusion of the election and further direct a ban on circulation of the videos of the rally with offending portions," a memorandum signed by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Randeep Surjewala and submitted to the poll panel said.
Briefing reporters outside the EC office here, Singhvi said, "We have just finished a very productive and important meeting with the EC. We complained specifically about the highly objectionable, blatantly partisan, communal and false statements coming from the top BJP leadership, in particular Home Minister Amit Shah and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
"They have made statements clearly against the minority community.... We have asked for a ban on campaigning by such persons."
Asked about the "vishkanya" (venomous) remark made against Gandhi by BJP leader Basangouda Patil Yatnal, Singhvi said the Congress will explore all legal options available to it, including moving the EC.
"It is a very derogatory and gutter-level remark against Sonia Gandhi.... We will use all legal options, including (moving) the EC," he said.
The Congress memorandum alleged: "Shah, in his desperation to improve their chances in the upcoming election, has sought to incite the law-abiding voters of the state of Karnataka by knowingly delivering false, baseless and uncertified statements before tens of thousands of voters, the video recording of which has even been circulated by the BJP to a far larger audience."
"In doing so, he and the organisers of the rally have committed serious electoral offences which are not only violative of this guideline but are also punishable under the Indian Penal Code, 1860," it said.
On April 25, the Congress claimed that Shah, along with several other BJP leaders, addressed a gathering at Karnataka's Vijayapura and their objective was to create an atmosphere of communal disharmony among the crowd that had gathered at the venue and those hearing the speeches on media platforms. The party had also alleged that these speeches were aimed at maligning the Congress on the basis of statements known to be false.
Quoting the home minister, the opposition party claimed that Shah had said, "Siddaramaiah, former chief minister of Karnataka, had released all PFI workers who were earlier kept in custody, and it was the BJP government that had to locate and jail them again."
It alleged that Shah had also stated that "the Indian National Congress has given an election promise that if it is elected to form the government in Karnataka, it will lift the ban on the PFI".
"In addition and more worryingly, coming from the union home minister himself is the statement that if the Indian National Congress wins the upcoming elections, then the entire state of Karnataka will be 'afflicted with communal riots'.
"The statements made by Amit Shah are likely to incite any class or community of persons to commit any offence against any other class or community and indirectly threaten to try to mislead electors into voting for a particular political party and candidate," the Congress said.
The opposition party also claimed that addressing a poll rally in the southern state on April 26, Adityanath said "the Congress is an expert in appeasement politics as it is supporting banned outfits like the PFI in Karnataka.... The BJP's double-engine government has banned the PFI and broken its backbone. There have been no riot or curfew in Uttar Pradesh in the last six years".
"We ask that the ECI ban Shri Yogi Adityanath from all campaign activities till the conclusion of the election," the Congress memorandum said.
The opposition party also raised the issue of the BJP candidate from Chamarajanagar and Varuna constituencies, V Somanna, allegedly offering a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to Janata Dal (Secular) nominee Mallikarjun Swamyand and promising a government vehicle for him in return for withdrawing his candidature.
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The Congress has sought the cancellation of Somanna's nomination from both the seats. At Varuna, Somanna is pitted against Siddaramaiah, the chief ministerial aspirant of the Congress.
Polling for the Karnataka Assembly is scheduled to be held on May 10 and the counting of votes will be taken up on May 13. The BJP is in power in the southern state.
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Kashmiri journalist Asif Sultan granted bail in five-year-old UAPA case
Srinagar: Kashmiri journalist Asif Sultan has been granted bail by a special court in Srinagar in connection with a five-year-old case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Sultan's arrest was related to an incident of rioting at Srinagar’s Central Jail in 2019, where a group of inmates allegedly set fire to several barracks and threw stones at prison staff.
He was arrested on February 29, just two days after being released from detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA), which allows authorities to detain individuals without trial for up to two years on grounds of national security or up to a year to maintain public order.
The special court's decision on May 10 observed that ample time had been given to interrogate Sultan during his 72-day custody. It further held that his continued detention would not serve any purpose, given his judicial conduct and status as a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir.
Judge Sandeep Gandotra, presiding over the case, pointed out the remote likelihood of Sultan fleeing the Union territory and granted him bail. Sultan was directed to furnish a bail bond worth Rs 1 lakh and instructed to cooperate with the investigating officer, providing necessary contact details.
Despite the Jammu and Kashmir High Court's order to release him citing procedural lapses, he remained in custody pending clearance letters from the home department and district magistrate.
