Tampered video, says BJP MLA accused of threatening voters with bulldozer
Congress leaders from Karimganj on Thursday said they have filed a police complaint against Ratabari MLA Bijoy Malakar
SILCHAR: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Bijoy Malakar, who was accused of threatening a section of voters in Assam’s Karimganj district to support the party or face demolition by bulldozers, on Thursday denied making the objectionable comment in his speech.
Malakar insisted that he was telling voters not to be afraid of bulldozers because the BJP was going to give them land documents. But the Congress tampered with the video, he said on Thursday, more than 24 hours after a video clip from his public meeting on Tuesday, April 16, emerged on social media.
In the video, Malakar appears to be telling his audience that if they don’t vote this time (for the BJP), “I know where are you from, where your house is, the election result is on (June) 6th.. no no (June) 4th. Make sure the JCB doesn’t reach your home after that”.
HT cannot verify the authenticity of the video.
Congress leaders from Karimganj on Thursday said they filed a complaint with the Badarpur police station against the Ratabari MLA for the speech but the police are yet to register a case.
Congress party’s Badarpur committee member Abdul Kasim Talukdar said a complaint against the MLA has also been sent to election officers.
Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, the Congress candidate for Karimganj Lok Sabha seat, said that they have sought action against Malakar because such speeches can lead to communal clashes before polling. “This person is a repeat offender and he made controversial remarks against one religious community in the past also. We have demanded action against him,” he said.
Malakar insisted that his 46-minute speech was tampered with by the Congress.
“I have seen the viral video and later I watched my entire speech again, which is available on Facebook. I told the locals that they were denied land patta even after living here for many decades, I said, they should not be afraid of bulldozers anymore because BJP is going to give them land patta,” he said.
Malakar said the Congress tampered with the video clip because they knew that they had nothing to offer to the public. “They have lost trust, so they are using these tricks to malign our reputation. We have identified those who shared the video and we’ll take action against them,” he added.
