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The Indian Union Muslim League on Saturday, 6 April, filed a complaint against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for calling the former a “virus,” and stating that the “Congress party is infested with the virus.”
Speaking to news agency ANI, K Anis Omar, an IUML leader, said “We met the ECI to file a complaint in regards to claims made by UP Chief Minister & by Delhi MLA MS Sirsa. They called us terrorists/virus & all kinds of things. BJP troll army is behind it. We have asked EC to file FIR, they're going to look into the matter & immediately respond to us.”
What Did Yogi Say?
Yogi Adityanath had on Friday, 5 April, dubbed the “Muslim League” a "virus" and claimed the Congress was affected by it, prompting the opposition party to retort that it was he who was a "virus" that would be "eradicated" in the election.
The tit-for-tat verbal duel was sparked with a tweet from Adityanath a day after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Wayanad in Kerala.
The chief minister was apparently referring to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which is a long-time member of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, equating it with the pre-Partition Muslim League.
He brought in the 1857 movement for freedom and its hero Mangal Pandey.
Congress Reacts to Yogi’s ‘Virus’ Comment, Urges EC to Take Action
Reacting to Adityanath's statement, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala called the chief minister "Bhogi" (hedonistic) and said the remarks were "completely intemperate."
"A virus named 'Bhogi' Adityanath has hung development in the largest state of Uttar Pradesh. People of Uttar Pradesh did correct that virus during the by-elections to some Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. The virus will be completely eradicated in this Lok Sabha election," Surjewala said.
Adityanath had on Thursday, 4 April, accused Gandhi of having a "secret agenda" in Kerala with the Muslim League, the "same organisation" which caused the country's division.
UP Congress Anshu Awasthi told PTI that the Election Commission should take notice of Adityanath's statement and take action.
"It was for the first time in the history of the country that the Pakistani agency (ISI) came over for inquiry in Pathankot under the BJP government... The country and its people know very well as to who is the actual virus," Awasthi said.
Awasthi reminded the BJP of its alliance with the the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir.
"How can anyone who had itself run the government with the PDP, which had taken 'terrorists for martyrs' and withdrew cases against the stone pelters, speak in this tone?" he asked.
EC Raps Yogi For Earlier ‘Modiji Ki Sena’ Comment, Lets Him Off With Warning
Meanwhile, the Election Commission had on 3 April issued a show cause notice to Yogi Adityanath for calling the Indian Army “Modiji ki sena” at an election rally in the state’s Ghaziabad.
Sources in the poll panel told news agency PTI that the UP chief minister had prima facie violated the rules of conduct laid down by the commission. However, the EC merely ‘cautioned’ Yogi from making such statements in the future and stay on par with its recent advisory to political parties to not refer to the armed forces for political propaganda.
The EC took the decision based on a video clip submitted by the Ghaziabad district magistrate which shows Adityanath making the remarks at the election rally on 31 March.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
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