Muzaffarnagar: A Muzaffarnagar court on Thursday returned the chargesheet against BJP president Amit Shah, citing points which were not consistent with the sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The Uttar Pradesh police said it is studying the objections raised by the court and working on revising the chargesheet for Shah’s alleged hate speeches in April this year.
In his meetings on April 4 in Bijnor, Shamli and Muzaffarngar, the BJP chief had reportedly said it was time to seek revenge by casting votes in the Lok Sabha polls.
“A man can live without food or sleep. He can live when he’s thirsty and hungry. But when he’s insulted, he can’t live. Apmaan ka badla toh lena padega,” Shah had reportedly said.
In his speech, Shah, who was recently appointed the BJP president, had allegedly exhorted Jats to avenge the killings during last year’s riots by voting for the BJP candidates.
In April, two separate FIRs were lodged against the BJP chief under Section 153A of the IPC and Section 125 of the Representation of People’s Act in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli.
The statements in the riot-hit areas of Uttar Pradesh generated a storm, with political rivals calling it a strategy to polarise votes ahead of the 2014 elections. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav described the statement as ‘poison’ that was concealed in the heart of Shah and his partymen.
BJP defended Shah saying asking for revenge through vote was not inflammatory. Shah later went on to become the chief architect of BJP’s unprecedented victory in UP where it won 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats.
Muzaffarnagar and its surrounding districts in western Uttar Pradesh witnessed communal riots last year in which more than 60 people were killed and thousands rendered homeless.