The Election Commission on Wednesday said it was examining the reply submitted by the BJP to a notice issued to its general secretary Amit Shah for his alleged “hate speeches,” even as the BJP leader moved the Allahabad High Court challenging the FIRs lodged against him by the U.P. government.
A Division Bench comprising Justices Arun Tandon and Satish Chandra posted the matter for Thursday while directing the State government to submit CDs of the speeches delivered by Mr. Shah in Bijnore and Shamli districts.
The BJP had on Tuesday informed the Commission that the CDs were “doctored.” The party claimed there were “serious discrepancies” between the audio visual content and the transcript in the notice. ”
“ The CD version refers to how the voters can bring about a change through the medium of the ballot box. The omitted portion reads as follows: Ek hi din mein do kaam hote hai: Lucknow mein Mulayam Sarkar ka hat jana, Delhi mein BJP sarkar ko banana” (two things happen on the same day: Mulayam government in Lucknow is dismissed and the BJP government is formed in Delhi)…. This omission and the unwarranted introduction of the word ‘badla’ make it appear that there was an exhortation to violence and revenge, whereas Mr. Shah was only talking about change through the ballot box.”