Anurag Thakur Changes Tone After EC's Action Over His 'Shoot The Traitors' Sloganeering, Says 'Ballot Should Win Over Bullet'
The change in Anurag Thakur's tone came after the Election Commission banned him from campaigning in the run-up to the Delhi assembly elections 2020 for making inflammatory statements.
New Delhi, February 3: Ballot should win over the bullet, said Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday. The change in Anurag Thakur's tone came after the Election Commission restricted him for a certain period from campaigning in the run-up to the Delhi assembly elections 2020 for making inflammatory statements. Thakur was also removed from the list of campaigners of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Delhi polls. Delhi Assembly Elections 2020: Hits And Misses of Arvind Kejriwal's AAP.
"In a democracy, violence has no place. Use your votes effectively. Ballot should win over bullet," Thakur told news agency ANI. Interestingly, last week, he was seen raising slogans, like "Desh ke gaddaro ko" and the crowd completing that with, "goli maaro saalo ko" (Shoot the traitors). Two days after Thakur's sloganeering went viral, a teenager fired at a group protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act outside the Jamia Millia Islamia University. 'Boli Se Nahi Toh Goli Se Maan Hi Jaayega': Yogi Adityanath Warns People Against Attacking Kawariyas.
The Election Commission initially ordered Thakur's removal from the list of campaigners of the BJP and issued a show-cause notice to him on January 28. Based on his response, on January 30, the EC barred him from campaigning for 72 hours. Subsequently, the Aam Aadmi Party wrote to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik demanding an investigation into the alleged role of Thakur in the Jamia shooting case and the inclusion of his name in the FIR.
In the letter, the AAP said that the young man who fired from a country-made pistol at a Jamia student "took inspiration from Thakur". Delhi is going for assembly polls on February 8. Results will be declared on February 11.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 03, 2020 04:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).