SAHARANPUR (UP): Congress Lok Sabha candidate Imran Masood was on Saturday arrested on charges of hate speech in which he threatened to “chop” Narendra Modi “into pieces”, remarks that led to an FIR being filed against him by police besides sparking an outrage. He was arrested in the early hours, police said.

Congress had distanced itself from the remarks by Masood, who is contesting from Saharanpur, saying it abjures violence whether of language or otherwise while BJP had condemned it as inflammatory and dragged Congress president Sonia Gandhi into the controversy.

A video footage of the election rally in Saharanpur, showing Masood attacking the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate, had gone viral on the web. 

“If Modi tries to make Uttar Pradesh into Gujarat, then we will chop him into tiny pieces...I am not scared of getting killed or attacking someone. I will fight against Modi. He thinks U.P. is Gujarat. Only 4 per cent Muslims are there in Gujarat while there are 42 per cent Muslims in U.P.,” he had said.

However, he later apologised for his remarks, saying, “I should have been more cautious with my words” and that the same were said in the heat of electioneering.

U.P. Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Amrendra Sengar said an FIR has been registered against Masood at Deoband police station of Saharanpur.

Sengar told reporters in Lucknow that the Congress nominee has been booked under section 125 (promoting enmity between classes in connection with election) of the Representation Of The People Act, and various IPC sections. - PTI

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation met the Chief Election Commissioner on Saturday asking for strict action to be taken against Congress candidate for Saharanpur Imran Masood for threatening to chop BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi into pieces. “Such kinds of statements reflect a Talibani mindset. 

These kinds of incidents hinder peaceful and unbiased elections in a democracy,” said BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. “We have asked EC to take strict action not only against Imran Masood, but also the Congress as in such cases the party is equally responsible and must be questioned. This is not the first time that the Congress has made a blunder like this, there are a dozen of such incidents,” he added.

Imran Masood, the Congress Party candidate who was to contest elections from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, has been arrested for his 'hate speech' against Modi made recently.

Masood, 40, was arrested on the basis of a video clipping that went viral on the web. The clipping showed Masood threatening to "chop Narendra Modi to pieces", igniting a new political controversy prior to next month's general election.

He is now facing criminal charges for his hate speech, though he maintains that he never threatened to kill Modi , but only to teach him a lesson. - ANI

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hitting back at Narendra Modi for his remarks against him, Defence Minister A K Antony today said no patriot would make such comments which would demoralise the defence forces and help the enemy.

"I am sorry not because of personalised attack. But, this kind of utterances can demoralise armed forces and help enemy.I do not think any true patriot will accept such remarks made for cheap popularity," Antony told a meet-the-press here.

Targeting Antony, Modi had called him an "agent of Pakistan and enemy of India".

Attacking Antony over his statement made in Parliament last year when Pakistani armymen had intruded into Mendhar sector in Jammu and Kashmir and killed two Indian soldiers, beheading one of them, Modi had said three AKs have emerged as a unique strength for Pakistan.

"One is AK-47 which has been used to cause bloodshed in Kashmir. The second is A K Antony, who informs Parliament that people wearing the dress of Pak army beheaded our soldiers while our Army says Pakistanis had come. Who do you want to benefit with your statement...," he had asked.

Though initially he had some reservation to reply to Modi's remarks, Antony, when insisted by journalists, said "Do you think it was proper for a leader who is projected as prime minister of his party to make such a comment?" "Is it not a comment that demoralises armed forces and help the enemy...I don't think any true patriot will accept that," he said.

Antony rejected the criticism that defence preparedness had slackened since he took over the ministry and said modernisation of forces and procurement of equipment had continued. This included induction of maximum number of platforms in the Navy and new weapons for the Army for which funds had been a constraint.

On yesterday's crash of C-130J Super Hercules aircraft of Indian Air Force, he said it would be improper to arrive at conclusions before getting the report of the investigation.

He, however, said aircraft were selected by Air Force after thorough processes, testing and trial runs and their acquisitions did not involve political decisions.

"In India procurement decisions are not political. It is based on clear cut procedures, quality and price," he said.
- PTI

BEIJING: China has laid out the charges against the four surviving suspects in a knife attack in the southwestern city of Kunming this month that left at least 169 dead or injured, the official People's Daily newspaper said on Saturday. 

The charges against the suspects of the March 1 attack, in which 29 were killed and about 140 injured, include organising, leading and participating in a terrorist organisation and murder, the newspaper said on its microblog. 

Police shot four of the other attackers dead. The four surviving suspects are likely to be given the death penalty, judging by the crimes they are accused of. Courts in
China are controlled by the ruling Communist Party, which has already clearly apportioned blame. 

The government blamed the attack on militants from the troubled far western region of Xinjiang, where Beijing has long said it faces a threat from violent Islamist separatists. Xinjiang, resource-rich and strategically located on the borders of central Asia, has been the focus of a renewed security campaign. 

More than 100 people, including several policemen, have been killed in violence in Xinjiang since last April, according to state media reports. - Reuters

MOSCOW: Russia has no intention of sending its armed forces into Ukraine although it is ready to protect the rights of Russian speakers in the former Soviet republic, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview on Saturday.

 "We have absolutely no intention of or interest in  crossing Ukraine's borders," Lavrov told a Russian television channel. Russia has forces in Crimea, which it has annexed from Ukraine, and has thousands of military close to the border with
eastern Ukraine, where there are many Russian speakers. - Agencies

SRINAGAR: Security forces on Saturday detected an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by militants outside an Army camp in the heart of the city.

A patrol party of 151 Territorial Army noticed a bag lying by the roadside near an Army camp in Bemina area of the city, the police said.

The Army personnel found a pressure cooker inside the bag and immediately called for the bomb disposal squad, the police said.

The five-kg IED was destroyed by the bomb disposal squad, police said, adding no damage was caused in the controlled explosion. - PTI