The Hindu : Front Page : Take legal action: Nitish

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 26, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Take legal action: Nitish

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar has demanded that legal action be taken against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Pilibhit candidate, Varun Gandhi, for inciting communal hatred soon after the Allahabad High Court rejected Mr. Gandhi’s plea that the criminal case filed against him be quashed.

Although Mr. Kumar is running his government in Bihar in coalition with the BJP, he did not mince his words on the Varun Gandhi affair. “My clear opinion is that legal action should be taken against him [Varun Gandhi] … he cannot escape legal action … anybody in public life who makes such statements [as Varun Gandhi did] must face the law and action under it that must follow.”

JD(U) president Sharad Yadav said he totally concurred with the Election Commission that Mr. Gandhi should not be a candidate in the Lok Sabha poll.

However, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “We do not appreciate the comments made by Mr. Nitish Kumar. We stand by our decision to field Varun Gandhi as the BJP candidate from Pilibhit.”

Another party leader, Kiran Maheshwari, president of the BJP women’s wing, told The Hindu: “Theek hi to bola tha” (What Varun Gandhi had said was right.)

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News Update

Stories in this Section