In the midst of a political uproar, an FIR was filed against former Congress MP Raja Pateria after a video of him saying, "If the Constitution is to be saved, then be ready to assassinate Modi," went viral.
Police in Panna filed the FIR against Pateria on the orders of home minister Narottam Mishra. He had been a cabinet minister in the Digvijaya Singh government from 1998 to 2003.
The clip is from a nukkad meeting in Pawai region of Panna. Addressing the gathering, Pateria is heard saying, “Narendra Modi will end polls. He will divide people on religion, caste and language. The future of Dalits, tribals and minorities is in danger. Samvidhan agar bachana hai, toh Modi ka hatya karne ke liye tatpar raho (If the Constitution is to be saved, then be ready to kill Modi). Hatya, in the sense of defeating Modi. ”
Pateria alleged that the video has been “misrepresented. What I said was that he (Modi) should be defeated politically in polls to save the Constitution and rights of Dalits, tribals and minorities. I said defeating him in polls is the answer to spiralling inflation and unemployment,” he said. However, that wasn’t good enough to calm down BJP. Madhya Pradesh CM Chouhan called the remarks against Modi the “height of animosity, and the extreme of hate”. He said: “Such things will not be tolerated.” He added: “The real face of those who have been running a sham Bharat Jodo Abhiyan is being revealed. Our PM lives in the hearts of the people. Congress can’t compete with him in the field, which is why, a Congress member is talking about the assassination of the PM.”
Pateria was charged under six IPC sections, while state BJP chief VD Sharma demanded that NSA be slapped on him. He said he would ask Union home minister Amit Shah for a thorough probe.
