sajwadi party MP Ajendra Singh Lodhi spoke out over derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Kotwali Nagar police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Mahoba district on Tuesday.
The case was filed on a complaint lodged against BJP leader Satyendra Pratap Gupta after he made controversial remarks during the Mahoba protests, news agency PTI reported.
Lodhi participated in demonstrations led by Samajwadi Party leaders to submit a memorandum to the governor on issues such as power cuts, installation of smart meters and rising inflation.
Speech video sparks political controversy
A purported video of the incident that surfaced on social media shows Lodhi using objectionable language against the Prime Minister while responding to a question about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal to people to reduce fuel consumption and limit purchases of gold and other imported goods.The Hamirpur-Mahoba MP used expletives against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called him a “desh-virodhi (anti-national)” prime minister, PTI reported. He also questioned the prime minister’s foreign visits and said the country had never seen such a leader before.Interacting with reporters after submitting the memorandum, Lodhi warned that the government would have to “face the consequences” if the protesters’ demands were not met.
BJP leader condemns remarks
The remarks triggered a strong reaction from BJP leaders, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who called them an “insult” to democratic values.Adityanath posted onHe added that Lodi’s actions reflected “a bad political culture, ideological bankruptcy and disrespect for the dignity of public life”.The chief minister further said that these remarks were an insult to the trust and trust of 1.45 billion Indians and the democratic dignity of the country.
BJP seeks action Akhilesh Yadav
Union Minister and Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhry also criticized the Samajwadi Party MP and demanded action against him.“The kind of dirty and indecent language used by Akendra Singh Lodhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be strongly condemned and proves that Samajwadi Party is a party of goons and people who use abusive language,” Chaudhry said, according to Press Trust of India.He urged Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to expel Lodhi from the party, saying the leadership’s silence would be seen as acquiescence to his remarks.Several BJP leaders, including spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla and MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi, also shared the video online and accused the Samajwadi Party of encouraging misuse of political language.In the same interaction with reporters, Lodhi also said that the Samajwadi Party will oppose the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and claimed that other India Bloc parties will push for elections through votes.