The Election Commission has served a notice to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his controversial remark made during an election rally in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh. The poll body has sought an explanation from Adityanath for his reference to Samajwadi Party candidate Shafiq-ur-Rehman Burq as ‘Babar Ki Aulad’ (son of Mughal emperor Babar).
Addressing an election rally in Sambhal on April 19, Adityanath told the crowd that the fight in the constituency was between a candidate who believes in nationalist and a person who calls himself the successor of Babar.
“On the one hand, you have made Modi who has huge respect for the country’s faith… On the other hand, there is a candidate who claims himself to be Babar’s child,” he had said.
Adityanath’s remark came on a day when the 72-hour-long ban imposed on him by the ECI ended. The three-day ban was imposed on him for his communal references in rallies.
The EC has now asked Adityanath to file his response within 24 hours. The commission noted that no activity should be carried out when the model code of conduct is in place which may create mutual hatred between communities. It said that his remark could create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities.
On Thursday, addressing an election rally in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan, Adityanath said that Congress is a threat to the country, adding that declaring Masood Azahar a global terrorist couldn’t have become a reality if the grand old party was in power. He also slammed Rahul Gandhi for not welcoming the Union Nation’s decision on banning Azhar. The CM said that it is also wrong to expect the Congress president will do development works.
Polling has been done for 373 seats so far in four different phases. Polling will take phase for remaining three phases on May 6, May 12 and May 19. Results will be declared on May 19.