Election Commission reprimands Yogi Adityanath for hate speech

Two days ahead of bypolls in UP, the Election Commission today reprimanded controversial BJP MP Yogi Adityanath for "provoking feelings of enmity" during a recent speech in Noida and asked the state poll officials to ensure filing of an FIR against him. The EC's rebuke for the Hindutva hardliner for allegedly invoking "religion" and making "appeal on this ground to secure votes" for his party came a day after he was booked for defying a ban on election meeting in Lucknow.

The poll body in its order also cautioned the BJP leader to be careful in his future public utterances. Asking the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Uttar Pradesh to ensure that an FIR is lodged against him for violation of the Model Code of Conduct in his speech last week, if it has not been filed till now, the EC demanded a compliance report by 5 PM on Friday. Bypolls will take place on Saturday in Noida and other assembly constituencies of UP and Adityanath is BJP's lead campaigner.

The Commission also expressed its displeasure with the MP for not addressing his reply to the EC in this regard and rather marking the communication vaguely as "What So Ever It May Concern" (sic).
"The Commission has also not accepted the averment in the said reply on your behalf that your speech was, in totality, aimed at the objective of complete religious harmony, as the CD covering your speech manifestly shows that you invoked religion and made appeal on this ground of religion to secure votes for your party.

"...that the said speech had the effect of provoking feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India on grounds of religion, race, caste, community or language and aggravating the existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic," the EC said in its order. The EC said in its considered view the MP from Gorakpur has "violated the provisions of model code of conduct." "Now, therefore, the Commission reprimands you for the above said misconduct and cautions you to be careful in future in making public utterances during election speeches to avoid any further violation of the model code of conduct," the EC said.

In its show cause notice issued on September 9, the EC has reproduced four reported remarks of Adityanath made on last Sunday which it said were violative of the model code. According to the EC, the MP, often accused of making hate speeches by the opposition, said mikes from a temple were removed in Moradabad but were allowed in mosques and those who protested were sent to jail. The poll watchdog also said in its show-cause notice that Adityanath had said that an India without Ram cannot be imagined. The Commission also rejected the MP's charge that "a copy of the report of the DEO was not furnished to him along with the Commission's notice (on September 9)".