Mayawati’s speech at Deoband rally under EC scanner

The state election commission has taken cognizance of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati’s speech at a rally in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh on April 7.

Mayawati asked the people to be cautious of the Congress dividing their votes. “…in Saharanpur, Bareilly where there is a huge Muslim population, I want to tell the Muslim community, don’t divide your votes. Give it to the BSP-SP-RLD alliance,” she said at the rally.

Among the complainants was state BJP vice-president JPS Rathore, who had written to the polling officer saying appealing to Muslims to not vote for a particular party was a violation of the model code of conduct.

Chief electoral officer L Venkateshwarlu then sought a report from the Saharanpur district administration.