【NEW DELHI】Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi moved into damage control mode on Tuesday, an FIR (First Information Report) was registered against Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia leader for "inciting communal passions" during his rabble-rousing speech in Bhavnagar on Saturday.
The VHP leader has faced twin trouble. First, he has been accused of violating sections 153(A), 153(B) and 188 of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR was registered in Bhavnagar. Secondly, the Election Commission on Tuesday started to exam video footage of his alleged "hate speech".
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has barred Giriraj Singh, who is running as a candidate for Nawada district of Bihar, from addressing election rallies.
"Petty statements by those claiming to be the BJP's well-wishers are deviating the campaign from the issues of development and good governance. I disapprove [of] any such irresponsible statements and appeal to those making them to kindly refrain from doing so,'' Mr. Modi said in a number of tweets.
○No chance for Modi as PM: Yechuri
【Hyderabad】CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechuri on Tuesday said, "Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)'s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will have no chance to become the Prime Minister."
Yechuri told party supporters at an election meeting. Terming the pre-poll surveys as a handiwork of the corporate media, Yechuri said the field reports coming from different parts of the country were contradicting the claims of these surveys that had given majority Lok Sabha seats to the BJP-led alliance. Also he stated no leader who proclaimed himself to be the Prime Minister became one in the past. In his case, the choice for the top job was still being debated within the BJP.
On the electoral prospects of the non-BJP and non-Congress alliance, Yechuri said the third political alternative was sure to emerge after the elections as neither the BJP nor the Congress could provide a policy direction to the country. He alleged the BJP had supported every policy move of the Congress except in permitting FDI in retail. The CPI(M) leader said the proposed third alternative would be gaining more friends once the picture gets clear.
He said his party was sure of improving the tally this time as Kerala was going to give more seats and the extent of improvement would really depend on whether the voters in West Bengal were allowed to caste their votes at all.
○Muslims should become 'communal' this time: Shazia Ilmi
【New Delhi】Aam Aadmi party (AAP) leader Shazia Ilmi was at the centre of a controversy today over her remarks that Muslims should become "communal" for their own good when they vote this time and not be "too secular".
"Muslims have remained secular for long...have voted for the Congress and helped them win. Don't be so secular and look at your house (community) this time," Ilmi, AAP candidate from Ghaziabad, said in the video, in which she is having a conversation with members of the Muslim community.
The Arvind Kejriwal-headed Aam Aadmi party(AAP) ticked Ilmi off and distanced itself from the controversial remarks, saying it does not endorse her views.
【News source】
Modi in damage control mode
FIR lodged against Togadia; EC viewing footage of his speech
FIR lodged against Togadia, EC viewing footage of his speech
No chance for Modi as PM: Yechuri
Muslims should become 'communal' this time: Shazia Ilmi
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