Another BJP Candidate Arrested For Hate Speech
In follow-up to yet another hate speech incidence, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Lok Sabha candidate Ashok Sahu was taken into custody on Tuesday while he was addressing a rally in Phulbani. He is reported to have made the inflammatory speech in Orissa’s communally sensitive Kandhamal region earlier this month.
According to Kandhamal district collector Krishan Kumar, Sahu was arrested from Phulbani town in pursuance of directions of the Election Commission that lays down action against a candidate violating the code of conduct
BJP’s candidate for the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat, Sahu runs the charge of using a communally charged language in his speech on April 5 at a public meeting in Raikia town. He allegedly accused the church of indulging in conversion.
The controversial BJP candidate from Kandhmal, who was traced on Sunday night in Nayagarh district of Orissa, had managed to escape in the early hours of Monday morning. On Sunday night, the police had surrounded the house where he was having dinner but could not arrest him because they did not have the arrest warrant with them.
An FIR was lodged against Sahu on April 9 for his inflammatory speech against the Christians in the communally sensitive district. After investigations, an arrest warrant was issued against Sahu on Saturday.
It may be mentioned that Kandhamal district, about 200 km from Bhubneswar, saw extensive communal violence after the murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his aides at his ashram on Aug 23, 2008.
In the violence, at least 38 people were killed in the state and more than 25,000 Christians were forced to flee their homes after their houses were attacked by rampaging mobs. More than 3,000 people are still living in government relief camps.
Sahu, linked to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, had made similar remarks during the communal violence last year. Christian leaders had immediately refuted the allegations.
