New Delhi: Varun Gandhi replied to the Election Commission notice on the hate speech case on Friday morning in New Delhi. The reply was filed before the three-member Election Commission by his lawyers who accompanied Varun to the Commission's office.
Sources told CNN-IBN that Varun's lawyers in their reply argued that tapes of the speech have been doctored and that the speech was not made with an intention to incite communal feelings. Varun's lawyers claimed the speech made was against communal forces in the country.
Sources also said that the lawyers said that technically Varun had not yet filed nominations so that doesn't make him a nominated candidate of the party.
Therefore anything that he said doesn't go under Model Code of Conduct, the lawyers argued.
Meanwhile, in a new twist to the Varun hate speech case, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to completely disown the statements of the young leader.
In its reply to the notice issued by the Election Commission, BJP took the line that the views expressed by Varun Gandhi - in a speech which he allegedly gave during an election rally in Pilibhit targeting the Muslim community - is not of the party.
The party also maintained that the public meeting where speeches were made was not a party function as the BJP has still not given its election symbol to Varun Gandhi.
It also asked the Commission to deal with Varun Gandhi as an individual and not to bring party in this issue.
BJP also claimed that since no notification has been issued for Varun's constituency, there cannot be a violation of code and that it wasn't an election speech but merely an address to the party workers.
BJP sent its reply to the Election Commission through fax.
Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami made it clear that the onus of proving that the video CD - containing the inflammatory hate speech - was tampered with rests with Varun himself.
"We have seen the videos. It is for Varun to prove that it has been tampered with. The question of disqualification arises only when nomination starts," N Gopalaswami said.
The young Gandhi has himself remained defiant saying the CD has been doctored with.
Varun, the 29-year-old son of five-time Pilibhit MP Maneka Gandhi, has created a storm by adopting a fanatical pro-Hindu stance in his speeches.
An unfazed Varun asserted on Wednesday that he was a "Gandhi, a Hindu and an Indian" and insisted that the CD showing him making inflammatory speeches was doctored.
The poll panel served notices to Varun Gandhi, BJP President Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh BJP Chief Ramapati Ram Tripathi to explain why they "disregarded and violated the provisions of the model code of conduct".
Varun has already moved the Allahabad High Court with a petition seeking to quash the FIR filed on March 17 at Barkheda Police Station in Piliphit under Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) of Indian Penal Code and Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act.
He also approached the Delhi High Court seeking anticipatory bail with his counsel telling a Bench headed by Chief Justice AP Shah that there was apprehension of his arrest since the provision for anticipatory bail was not available in Uttar Pradesh.
Two more cases have also been filed against him in Pilibhit for distributing money.
Comments
0 comment