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February 24, 2016

India: BJP leader booked, removed from post for call to behead Rahul

The Times of India

BJP leader booked, removed from post for call to behead Rahul

| TNN |
NAINITAL: A case was registered against local BJP leader Jagtar Singh Bajwa three days after he was caught on tape appealing to youth to decapitate Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The BJP, too, acted swiftly and removed him from the post of vice-president of the Bajpur unit of Udham Singh Nagar district. Bajwa was booked on Monday night for the alleged hate speech after the tape surfaced in which he had purportedly urged the "the youth of the country to decapitate Rahul Gandhi and hang his head on JNU's gate". He was also heard saying, "Those who do so will be worshipped and a temple in their name will be constructed."

Deputy-inspector-general of Kumaon division, Pushkar Singh Sailal, said, "The case has already been registered and the law will take its course." Chief minister Harish Rawat on Monday condemned the statement at a press conference.

Bajwa was booked under Sections 153 B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The complaint was filed by a police officer of the state government.

On February 19, Bajwa, a local BJP leader from Bajpur, was caught on tape giving the inflammatory speech as he spoke about the ongoing row in JNU.

The BJP, however, even as it cracked the whip on Bajwa attacked Gandhi for "supporting the JNU students", who, according to them, were involved in raising anti-national slogans. Ajay Bhatt, state BJP chief, targeted both chief minister Harish Rawat and Gandhi. "We are not like the Congress. Bajwa has been removed from his post for using un-Parliamentary language and we are conducting our own inquiry in the matter. Now, the CM must tell us what action the Congress is taking against Rahul Gandhi for his support to anti-national elements."

Declaring himself a fervent "patriot", Bajwa had said that for people like him "country comes first". He had added, "Those who support traitors, we will not hesitate in killing such people."