Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh minister Raja Pateria was arrested on Tuesday morning for his controversial ‘be ready to kill Modi to save the Constitution’ remark about the prime minister.
He was produced in a court at Pawai in Panna district which refused to grant him bail and sent him in 14-day judicial custody, said his lawyer Govind Narayan Baghel. They will file an appeal in the higher court, the lawyer added.
The state Congress, meanwhile, issued a show-cause notice to Pateria, terming his remarks as extremely objectionable.
Pateria was arrested by the police from his residence in Hata town in Damoh district.
“A police team went to his house around 5.30 am to inform him about the arrest. They took him to Pawai (in Panna district) around 7 am,” Hata sub divisional officer of police Virendra Bahadur Singh told PTI.
MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that two more Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections — 115 and 117 — were added to the First Information Report (FIR) registered against him.
Section 115 deals with ‘abetment of offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life if offence not committed’, and 117 deals with ‘abetting commission of offence by the public.’ In a video that surfaced on social media on Monday morning, Pateria could be heard telling Congress workers at a meeting in Pawai, “Be ready to kill Modi. Kill in the sense of defeating him…..Modi will end the elections. Modi will divide on the basis of religion, caste and language. The future of Dalits, tribals and minorities is in danger. If you want to save the Constitution, then be ready to kill Modi. Kill in the sense of defeating him.” Subsequently, an FIR was registered against Pateria under IPC sections 451 (house-trespass), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 505 (statements conducing public mischief), and 506 (criminal intimidation).
The offence of house trespass was included in the FIR as the meeting of Congress workers had allegedly been held at the Pawai PWD guest house without permission.
MP Congress chief Kamal Nath tweeted late Monday night that he condemned the controversial remarks.
Later, MP Congress Committee served a notice to Pateria asking him to explain why he should not be expelled from the party.
The notice said that Pateria used very “objectionable and condemnable words” against the prime minister.
“In 45 years of political life, I have always followed truth and non-violence with full conscience and will always do so. No one can point fingers on this issue. The alleged video of a leader is going viral in the state, if there is even an iota of truth in it, then we strongly condemn such statements,” Kamal Nath said in a tweet.
He also wished long life to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
But Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Govind Singh defended Pateria and said the former minister has been a follower of non-violence throughout his life.
Pateria should not have been arrested as he immediately clarified that he was only talking about defeating Modi and also expressed regret, he said.
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