Araria (Bihar): An FIR has been lodged against Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state President Nityanand Rai on charges of violating model code of conduct by allegedly making provocative speech during campaigning for Araria Lok Sabha bypolls.
Araria: Complaint lodged against Bihar BJP state President Nityanand Rai' on charges of violating model code of conduct for his comment stating ' If Sarfaraz Alam (RJD candidate) wins the by poll then Araria will become hub of ISI
— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2018
On Friday March 09, Nityanand Rai sparked a major row when he told an election rally that if RJD’s Sarfaraz Alam won the by-poll in Bihar’s Araria district, it would “become a hub of the Islamic State”.
“If Sarfaraz Alam wins then Araria will become hub of ISI, if Pradeep Singh (BJP bypoll candidate) wins then Araria will be the hub of nationalists,” said the Bihar BJP chief.
The victory of our candidate Pradip Singh will, on the other hand, give rise to patriotic fervour.
Rai had also attacked the Lalu Prasad-headed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for its failure to speak up against those indulging in cow slaughter. The comments had drawn sharp flak from the RJD.
Interestingly, Sarfaraz Alam was BJP ally JD-U’s legislator till last month when he quit and joined the RJD to contest the by-election.
The Araria Lok Sabha constituency, where some 41 per cent of electors are Muslim, goes to polls along with two assembly seats on Sunday.
The Araria Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after his father Mohammad Taslimuddin, RJD MP, died last year.