New Delhi: The Election Commission on Friday lodged FIRs against BJP president Rajnath Singh and senior party leader Lalji Tandon in connection with the production of a controversial CD attacking Muslims.
Chief electoral officer A K Bishnoi filed the FIRs against the two BJP leaders at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow. The FIRs were filed under different sections of Indian Penal Code and Representation of People's Act.
Sources within the EC said that the Commission has decided to file FIRs against those involved in the CD for electoral offences under the Representation of People Act (RPA) and serve notice to the party.
The Election Commission has issued a notice to the party for releasing a controversial twin-CD pack as part of its election campaign. The party has been asked to respond to notice by 1500 hrs (IST) on Friday.
The Chief Electoral Officer of UP has also been asked to respond on the FIR against all those involved in making the CD by 1800 hrs (IST) on Friday.
The EC action comes on a day when former Prime Minister V P Singh met the Commission and sought derecognition of the party for "spreading poison" against communities through the CD.
The CD, which is highly critical of the Muslims, was allegedly released by the BJP as part of its election campaign on Tuesday. It includes footage of the Babri Masjid demolition and the Godhra carnage, and is highly critical of Muslims.
The CD pack, released on Tuesday, is currently under EC perusal and reportedly includes visuals of Godhra carnage and Babri demolition.
As reported first by CNN-IBN’s sister network IBN-7, the contents of the CDs are “highly critical” of Muslims.
After the report was aired IBN-7 on Wednesday, EC swung into action and forced BJP to withdraw the CD.
However, the CD seems to have already inflicted enough damage on party’s image with strong reactions pouring in from across political spectrum.
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