A court in Uttar Pradesh has returned the chargesheet filed by police against BJP president Amit Shah for an alleged hate speech he made in April ahead of the national election. The court has faulted the police for a technicality in how the chargesheet was filed; senior police officers say they are studying the judge’s comments.
Yesterday, the police in Muzaffarnagar, which was devastated by communal violence last year, accused Mr Shah of making a speech intending to cause religious outrage, promoting tensions between different religious group and appealing for votes on religious grounds.
“We don’t have full details, we have not got any notice on this,” said the BJP’s Meenakshi Lekhi on Wednesday.
On Saturday, important by-elections are being held in the state. In their campaign, the BJP’s state leaders have been accused of trying to polarize voters on religious line by repeatedly warning against the dangers of “love jihad” – a term used by right-wing groups for what they describe as an Islamist strategy to convert Hindu women through seduction, marriage and money.
Mr Shah was named president of the BJP in July after he masterminded the party’s stupendous victory in Uttar Pradesh in the national election.
Mr Shah’s political rivals accuse him of using communal tension to electoral advantage in Uttar Pradesh, a charge he has denied. But during the national election campaign, the 53-year-old was banned by the Election Commission from holding rallies and delivering speeches after it found him guilty of delivering hate speeches. The ban was lifted after Mr Shah vowed in writing not to use abusive or derogatory language.
Mr Shah also faces murder charges in Gujarat, where he was Home Minister for seven years when Mr Modi was chief minister. He has denied that he ordered extra-judicial killings in Gujarat.
