BJP nominee booked for inflammatory speech

Muzaffarnagar: The BJP's Miranpur candidate for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls has been booked for allegedly giving an inflammatory speech at an election meeting and violating EC guidelines on physical campaigning, police said on Monday. Pershant Gujjar and his 40 supporters have also been booked for holding the meeting without permission on Sunday, Kakroli Station House Officer (SHO) Sunil Sharma said. He said that the meeting took place despite the Election Commission (EC) banning all kinds of physical poll public meetings and rallies in view of the Covid situation.

Gujjar, in a video clip, is heard appealing to people in Chorawala village to support him in the elections as the BJP is of Hindus and the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) is a Muslims' party. Sharma said Gujjar and his supporters were booked after investigation of the video, which has gone viral on social media.

The election meeting, which Gujjar is addressing, was organised without the permission of district authorities and in violation of EC guidelines, he said.