The chief electoral officer (CEO) in Uttar Pradesh has been asked by the Election Commission (EC) to file an FIR against BJP MP Mahant Yogi Adityanath for violation of the election code of conduct.
The EC has also warned the BJP MP to be careful in choosing his words while making speeches. Another FIR is to be registered against Sadhvi Prachi for making inflammatory speeches in Moradabad.
CEO Umesh Sinha told reporters on Thursday that the directives of the EC would be promptly complied with. The EC directives are regarding Mr Adityanath’s speech in Noida in which he had spoken on love jihad and the FIR will be registered there.
Meanwhile, another FIR has been lodged against him in Lucknow for violating the model code of conduct and addressing an election meeting without having the requisite permission. SSP Lucknow Praveen Kumar said on Thursday that the FIR was lodged late on Wednesday night against Mr Adityanath and others at the Ghazipur police station under various sections of the IPC.
The names of Gopalji Tandon, the BJP candidate from Lucknow East constituency, state BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai, BJP MPs Jagdambika Pal, Lallu Singh and former MP Lalji Tandon also figure in the FIR.
The SSP said that names of others who are visible in the video have also been included in the FIR. State BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai told reporters on Thursday that while he and his party respected the Election Commission but action against Yogi Adityanath was a result of political vendetta by the Akhilesh government.
Mr Bajpai said that the incident was actually a protest against the unconstitutional behavior of the Lucknow administration.
“We did not violate the order of the EC. Mahant Adityanath simply addressed the people sitting on a truck which was sanctioned for publicity,” he said.
He further said that Adityanath had been denied permission to hold rallies in Thakurdwara, Mainpuri and Nighasan which proved the malafide intentions of the state government.