Telangana: BJP’s Navneet Rana booked over ‘voting for Congress means voting for Pakistan’ remark

Rangareddy (Telangana) [India], May 10 (ANI): Firebrand BJP leader Navneet Rana was booked for her remarks against the Congress at a campaign event in the state, on Friday.

An FIR against Rana, who is seeking a fresh term from the Amravati constituency of Maharashtra in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, was registered at the Shadnagar police station in the state.

Canvassing for fellow BJP candidate Madhvi Latha, who is contesting the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat, Navneet said every vote cast in favour of the Congress will be a “vote for Pakistan”.

Confirming the registration of the FIR against her, the police informed that they acted on a complaint and not suo motu. Krishna Mohan of FST flying squad of the Election Commission (EC), who is currently on election duty in the state, filed the complaint against the BJP leader, the police said.

“We received a complaint from the FST flying squad, EC for violation of the model code of conduct. The complaint was lodged yesterday. Krishna Mohan, FST of EC who is on election duty in the state currently, lodged the complaint against Navneet Rana’s remark that every vote cast in favour of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress was a vote for Pakistan. She has been booked under Section 188 of the IPC,” Pratap Lingam, inspector, Shadnagar police station, told ANI.

On Thursday, Navneet attacked the AIMIM and the Congress, claiming that if the people vote for the AIMIM and the Congress, it would mean a vote for Pakistan.

“If you vote for the AIMIM and Congress, it will go directly to Pakistan. The kind of ‘AIMIM prem’ and ‘Rahul prem’ that Pakistan is showing is actually intended to ensure Modi-ji’s defeat and make Rahul win. The Congress government governed the country as per the whims and dictates of Pakistan. Now, the same Pakistan is returning the favour with its demonstration of love and affection for the Congress and the AIMIM,” Navneet said.

Earlier, to AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi’s statement that it would take them all of ’15 minutes’ to balance out the “Hindu-Muslim ratio” in the country, Navneet hit back at the Owaisi brothers, saying “it would take us 15 seconds if the police were removed or made to stand down”.

“The younger brother says ‘remove the police for 15 minutes so that we can show them what we can do’. I want to tell the younger brother (Akbaruddin) that it might take you 15 minutes, but it will only take us 15 seconds…it will take us all of 15 seconds if we come to the forefront,” Rana was heard saying in a video clip she posted on her X handle, tagging the Owaisi brothers.

At a meeting in 2013, Akbaruddin warned “100 crore Hindus” that his community would show what it could do if the police were withdrawn for ’15 minutes’.

BJP has fielded independent Lok Sabha member Navneet Rana as its candidate from the Amravati parliamentary seat in Maharashtra.