Imran Masood, a Congress candidate for Sahranpur, has stirred up some major controversy by threatening to "chop Narendra Modi into pieces" during a rally speech; an incident that has invited sharp ciriticism from BJP, which has termed the remark as "inflammatory" and sought strict legal action from the election commission.
The video, which has now gone viral, shows Masood verbally attacking the BJP prime ministerial candidate during a rally in Saharanpur.
"If Modi tries to make Uttar Pradesh into Gujarat, then we will chop him into tiny pieces... I am not scared of getting killed or attacking someone. I will fight against Modi. He thinks UP is Gujurat. Only 4 percent Muslims are there in Gujarat while there are 42 percent Muslims in UP," he said.
Watch the video here:
After the matter came to light, Masood has been booked for hate speech and a case has been registered against him at Devbad police station in the district.
He has been booked under Section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups), 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religious or religious beliefs), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke break of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, district authorities have said, according to The Times of India.
Masood later denied using any derogatory language against anyone in any of his speeches.
"I don't use foul language. As far as talking about Modi is concerned, I want to make it clear that I will talk about him and his deeds," Masood told the newspaper.
The video is reportedly being examined by the authorities to determine the context of Masood's statement and the extent to which he used derogatory language. Masoon is seen, in the video, shouting his lungs out with a sore throat in the absence of a microphone. But most the words are clear and audible.
