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Bhubaneswar: The BJP on Tuesday filed an FIR against the BJP’s candidate from Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat Pradeep Majhi and 5T chief VK Pandian accusing them of inciting violence in the state by showing a doctored video of Union Minister Amit Shah’s speech on the issue of Reservation in electoral rallies.
Registering the complaint at the city cyber police station, the BJP demanded that the two BJP leaders be booked under the relevant section of the IPC Act and the Information Technology Act for allegedly spoiling the election atmosphere and promoting enmity between religious groups. They added that this was a deliberate attempt to encourage tribes to resort to violence.
Senior BJP leader Sameer Mohanty, who led a party delegation to the cyber police station, alleged that former MP Majhi distributed the fake video at election rallies on Pandian’s instructions. Fearing defeat at the hands of the BJP in the upcoming elections, the BJP and the Congress are now sailing in the same boat, Mohanty said. He added that this is their latest attempt to win the elections by targeting Amit Shah, one of the most popular leaders in the country.
Launching a scathing attack on the BJP, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the video shown by Majhi to people at an election rally in Nabarangpur has been proven to be fake and cases have already been filed against the Telangana chief minister and others in several states.
He said Magee did this to please his political master. Such a slur against the Union Home Minister is unacceptable and the BJP has condemned such action. “I have also appealed to the Election Commission of India to take cognizance of the matter and initiate appropriate legal action against Majhi. I have also asked my party leaders to register a complaint with the chief electoral officer and police station,” he said at a rally in Deogarh.
Calling the BJP anti-tribal Democratic Party, Pradhan asked, “Who took the Cabinet decision to sell tribal lands? What was the purpose of the decision to allow sale of tribal lands? Was it to hand over tribal lands to capitalists and industrialists?”
Alleging that the BJP was a conspiracy to subjugate the poor and innocent tribals of the state, Pradhan dared the Chief Minister to point it out if he had any morals.