SC notice to Varun Gandhi over Pilibhit 'hate' speech

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued notice to BJP MP Varun Gandhi on a plea seeking his disqualification from the Lok Sabha for his 'hate speech' during the 2009 parliamentary election. A bench comprising Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice S S Nijjar on Friday sought the explanation from Gandhi on the petition filed by Congress candidate VM Singh.

Senior counsel MN Krishnamani on behalf of the petitioner said, the Allahabad High Court had erroneously dismissed the election petition without going into the technicalities and evidence produced against the BJP MP for his speeches in Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency of Uttar Pradesh in 2009.

Instead of disposing of the election petition within the mandatory six-month period, the high court took nearly two years for deciding the issue and rejected the petition against Gandhi, submitted Krishnamai.

The senior counsel further argued that the high court did not examine these issues properly and had instead taken a reasoning that the alleged hate speech, even if delivered, were at the time of the pre-nomination stage and hence did not warrant disqualification under the provisions of the Representation of People Act, 1951.

The petitioner has moved the apex court seeking disqualification of Varun Gandhi. He had threatened to "cut off both hands of persons who raised them against Hindus", the petition said. It alleged that the BJP candidate had exhorted Hindus in the name of the Bhagwad Gita to vote for him so that "Indian Muslims could not create another Pakistan".