A case of sedition has been lodged against former Uttar Pradesh governor Aziz Qureshi for his alleged derogatory remarks against the Yogi Adityanath government.
Police said an FIR was lodged based on a complaint from BJP leader Akash Kumar Saxena at the Civil Lines Police Station in Rampur district on Sunday.
In his complaint, Saxena said Qureshi compared the BJP government in the state with a "blood-sucking demon" following a visit to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s house where he met the jailed parliamentarian's wife Tazeen Fatma,
"The statement can create tension between two communities and create unrest in society," Saxena said in his complaint, a PTI report said.
Later, Qureshi said his words were being misquoted to politically harm him and mislead the public. “I had said that there haven't been as much atrocities in earlier days as today. I haven't made any remarks against anyone,” Qureshi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The BJP leader also handed over to police a pen drive containing Qureshi’s alleged statement which was aired by various news channels.
Qureshi was booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between two groups on grounds of religion, race), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 124A (sedition), and 505(1)(B) (intent to cause fear or alarm to the public), a senior police officer said.
{{/usCountry}}Qureshi was booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between two groups on grounds of religion, race), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 124A (sedition), and 505(1)(B) (intent to cause fear or alarm to the public), a senior police officer said.
{{/usCountry}}Qureshi (81), is a senior Congress leader and had served as the governor of Mizoram and Uttarakhand. He was also in charge of Uttar Pradesh for some time.
Police said action will be taken according to the law.
(With agency inputs)