Nagpur Congress leader booked for allegedly making derogatory remarks about PM Modi
Sheikh Hussain said he will not apologise and is ready to face any consequences.
A first information report was registered against a Congress leader from Nagpur on Wednesday for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PTI reported.
Sheikh Hussain, the former Congress city president, had made the alleged remarks during a protest held outside the Enforcement Directorate office in Nagpur on June 13.
The protest was held to support Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper.
The FIR was registered against Hussain based on a complaint filed by local Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, according to The Indian Express. The Congress leader has been charged under Section 294 (obscene acts and songs) and 504 (intentional insult with the intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code.
No arrests have been made so far, according to PTI.
Hussain, however, said that he had not said anything derogatory about the prime minister. He added that he will not apologise and that he is ready to face any consequences.
“I have not made any personal attack against the PM,” Hussain told ANI. “I only used an idiom in my speech. I spoke in favour of the party [Congress]. I have not said anything I regret or need to apologise for.”
However, the Congress disapproved of the alleged remarks made by Hussain.
“The Congress does not endorse any disrespect towards the prime minister,” Maharashtra state Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe told The Indian Express. “Each and every constitutional post and person holding that post should be addressed properly. The use of unparliamentary words is not acceptable to the party.”
Union minister Anurag Singh Thakur said that such remarks reflect the mentality of the Congress.
“In politics, one can express their opinion but offensive words should not be used,” Thakur said, according to ANI. “People have made him [Modi] prime minister twice.”