Hate speech
The Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh late Sunday invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against BJP leader Varun Gandhi for his reported hate speeches and mob violence during his arrest on Saturday.
Announcing the state administration's decision at a late night press conference, Principal Secretary (Information) Vijay Shankar Pandey said: "In view of the highly provocative and communally charged speeches delivered by him at two places followed by organised violence by his supporters, the district magistrate of Pilibhit has clamped NSA on Varun Gandhi."
Gandhi, whom the BJP has named as its candidate from Pilibhit, about 300 km from here, is in jail after he was Saturday sent to judicial custody.
His bail application was to be heard by a court in Pilibhit Monday, but the bail plea becomes infructuous as the NSA does not provide for bail for a full year.
He, however, can contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Text: IANS
Image: BJP candidate Varun Gandhi greets his supporters as he comes out of a local court after he was arrested, in Pilibhit on Saturday, March 28, 2009. (Copyright AP. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.)
