Yogi Adityanath, BJP’s firebrand leader from Uttar Pradesh, could be in fresh trouble as the State police have sent the CD recording of a hate speech he allegedly made seven years ago for forensic examination.
Civil society groups have sought his disqualification as MP and penal action.
Mr. Adityanath, who has been named by the BJP as one of its star campaigners for the by-elections in the State, allegedly made the speech, with references to conversion and “love jihad,” in Gorakhpur in January 2007. The Crime Branch has been investigating a case against the MP for his role in the Gorakhpur riots the same month. A case was registered against him on the orders of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gorakhpur, in the Cantonment police station in 2008.
Police sources said the investigation would gather momentum once the forensic report was out. The CD would be examined and his voice samples verified for authenticity. A local court had recently ordered that the alleged hate speech video be sent for forensic test.