CM Keshav Prasad Maurya: A lawsuit has been brought against Maria Alam Khan, the leader of the Samajwadi Party and the niece of prominent Congress Leader Salman Khurshid, about a contentious remark she made during her campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in Kaimganj, Uttar Pradesh.
FIR Against Salman Khurshid
At the Kaimganj police station in the Fatehgarh district, a FIR has been filed, naming Khurshid, for violating the election code in accordance with Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 188 and 295A. Maria Alam called for “vote jihad” in the Farrukhabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh, urging voters to support INDIA bloc candidate Naval Kishore Shakya, citing the need for the “minority community” in the current circumstances.
Khurshid’s Presence at Public Gathering
In addition, Khurshid was the main guest at the public gathering that Maria Alam was speaking at. She said, “People say that Constitution and democracy are under threat. But I say that insaniyat (humanity) is under threat.”
She advised the populace to vote “very intelligently without getting influenced” if they wished to preserve the nation, its natural beauty, and its culture. Voters were also advised to “boycott Muslims who support the Bharatiya Janata Party” by the leader of the SP.
India’s Stance on Various Forms of Jihad
On this Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya says, “India stands against any sort of jihad whether it is love, land and newly coined word ‘vote jihad’…Votes are being showered on Lotus (BJP symbol) due to which SP, BSP and Congress are highly frustrated. This mindset of ‘vote jihad’ is quite precarious. After a full-fledged investigation, whoever finds guilty action should be taken against them. I stand strongly in criticism against it; it cannot be accepted either by state or country.”