Uttar Pradesh: SP candidate seeks votes in name of religion, video goes viral

KASGANJ (UP): Defying the Supreme Court's verdict to separate religion, caste and other issues from politics, a Samajwadi Party candidate openly sought votes in the name of religion at a public gathering here. Hasratullah Sherwani, whom SP has fielded from Uttar Pradesh's Kasganj, urged Muslims of his constituency to vote for him. "I didn't let any Muslim see the gates of police station during my days. Cops couldn't even dare to seize their vehicles because they knew that the MLA would call and reprimand them," Sherwani said. He said if a Muslim (he) won't win from the Kansanj seat, no party would ever field any Muslim candidate in future from this constituency. "Will any Muslim dare contest from this seat? I have taken a big risk. When I lost elections, my children asked me to come back to Delhi. But when I saw the people of my community being arrested without any reason, I could't go away. Don't repeat that mistake and if you do, this seat will never go to any Muslim," he was seen saying in a video. After the video went viral, a case was registered against the SP candidate for allegedly violating the model code of conduct. The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement, on January 2 ruled that seeking votes on the basis of religion, race, caste or language of a candidate or a rival or of the voters is illegal. It said election was a secular exercise and elected representatives too have to work on secular lines The court held that any appeal for votes on these grounds would amount to "corrupt practice".