Published 23:19 IST, January 28th 2020
'Try and shoot me': Owaisi challenges MoS Anurag Thakur over his 'goli maaro' shocker
Slamming Union Finance Minister (MoS) Anurag Thakur's 'Shoot traitors' call, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, on Tuesday, challenged Thakur to shoot him at anytime
Slamming Union Finance Minister (MoS) Anurag Thakur's 'Shoot traitors' call, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, on Tuesday, challenged Thakur to shoot him at any place and time of his choice, while addressing a CAA-NRC-NPR protest rally in Mumbai's Jhula Maidan. Stating that Thakur's bullets won't be enough to shoot everyone, he said that Thakur's comments did not scare him. Moreover, he alleged that those were not Thakur's words but PM Modi's.
Owaisi challenges Anurag Thakur: 'Shoot me, but we will last'
"How many will you shoot Anurag Thakur? I challenge you. Decide the place, I will come there and you try and shoot me. Your comments will not scare me. I know who these traitors you are referring to. Your bullets will get over but we will still last. This is not Anurag Thakur's statement, this is Modi's words spoken by Anurag Thakur," he said at the rally.
EC pulls up Anurag Thakur
Earlier in the day, the Election Commission (EC) issued a show-cause notice to Thakur for his "desh ke gaddaron ko" slogan at a poll meeting. EC stated that prima facie the remarks had the "potential of disturbing communal harmony" and the BJP MP had violated the election code and electoral law. Thakur has been asked to respond to the notice before 12 noon on January 30 (Thursday).
Anurag Thakur's 'shoot traitors' call
On Monday, a video surfaced in which Thakur was seen chanting inflammatory slogans in a BJP election rally in Delhi. The video shows the Union Minister shouting 'Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maron salon ko' (Shoot all traitors of the country) while campaigning for the BJP candidate for Rithala Assembly constituency - Manish Chaudhari. Incidentally, the Union Minister is part of the Finance team headed by Nirmala Sitharaman which will present the Union Budget on February 1. Earlier on December 20, BJP leader Kapil Mishra had led a pro-CAA rally in Delhi where he had raised the same slogan, from which BJP distanced itself.
Delhi Assembly Elections
Delhi will go to polls in a single-phase on February 8 and the counting of votes will take place on February 11. The last day of filing nominations for the candidates is on January 21 and the last day to withdraw nominations is January 24. The BJP and Congress are yet to name their Chief Ministerial faces. The ruling AAP is contesting the election with Kejriwal leading them.
Updated 23:19 IST, January 28th 2020