By IANS
New Delhi : The Election Commission Thursday issued a notice to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi after he justified the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a fake encounter.
The poll panel has sought a detailed reply from Modi by Saturday. It has received a CD of an election campaign speech delivered by him at Mangrol in the state from the Surat collector.
In his speech, Modi mentioned the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, keeping in mind the fragmented electorate in the state.
“Yes, a notice has been sent to him. This decision was taken after a meeting of the commission’s officials,” said a poll panel spokesperson.
Television footage of the Mangrol rally showed Modi provoking the crowd.
“The Congress is saying that Modi got the encounter done. I am telling the Congress, you have a government at the centre. If you have the guts, come and hang me. Sohrabuddin is the one who attacked the police with AK 47s on our soil. Then what does the Gujarat Police do?” Modi told the well-attended election rally.
“The Congress in Gujarat should explain to the people what should be done to a man who stored illegal arms and ammunition. You tell me, what should have been done to Sohrabuddin?” he asked the crowd.
To this, the crowd chanted, “Kill him. Kill Him.”
Sohrabuddin was shot dead in November 2005 and his murder was passed off as an encounter killing. Three senior police officers were arrested in connection with the case.
Footage also showed Modi remarking, “Well, that is it. Do I have to take Sonia Gandhi’s permission to do this? Hang me if I have done anything wrong.”
At another rally in Katlal, he squarely blamed Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for his controversial justification of Sohrabuddin Sheikh’s death in a fake encounter.
Following his outburst, state government counsel in the case, K.T.S. Tulsi has already said he would withdraw from the case even as efforts are on to convince him to stay.
A Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson said, “If Tulsi wants to quit we will find other lawyers,” and added “Modi will explain the context in which he made the comments.”