Zee Media Bureau

Lucknow: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Narendra Modi`s close aide Amit Shah has appealed to the people of a riot-hit Jat village near Muzzafarnagar and said that if they want to take revenge they should vote for his party in the upcoming General Elections.

"In Uttar Pradesh, especially western UP, it is an election for honour. It is an election to take revenge for the insult. It an an election to teach a lesson to those who have committed injustice," he told a meeting of community leaders two days ago.

The BJP leader said that it was during Mughals when swords and arrows were used to take revenge, but at present one can no longer resolve a matter with such things.

In an apparent reference to the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh for mishandling the Muzaffarnagar riots, Shah said that justice has not been done and it is time to take revenge during the elections. He urged the people to press the right button and bring BJP to power.

65 people were killed in the Muzaffarnagar riots which happened in September 2013 leaving 50,000 displaced.

The BJP`s UP in-charge for the elections also spoke about revenge while he was addressing people in Gandhi colony.

“A man can live without food or sleep. He can live when he’s thirsty and hungry. But when he’s insulted, he can’t live. Apmaan ka badla toh lena padega,” Shah reportedly said.

Interestingly, Shah was accompanied by BJP leader Suresh Rana, who is accused of instigating Muzaffarnagar riots last year.

Shah further said that nobody has the courage to instigate riots in Narendra Modi-led Gujarat.

While addressing supporters in Bijnore, the BJP leader said that if Narendra Modi becomes the prime minister, the next day “Mullah Mulayam’s government” will be dismissed.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said that Shah`s statement reflects fascist ideology.

JD(U) leader KC Tygai condemned the statement made by the BJP leader.

Congress leader Abhishek Manu Shinghvi said that Shah is openly instigating the Jats communities to take revenge and should be booked under law. He termed the speech as a criminal offence.

Congress today complained to the Election Commission against Shah ver his alleged "provcative hate speech" relating to last year`s Muzaffarnagar riots.

The party also demanded that Shah be arrested and banned from campaigning for "creating animosity between communities" in western Uttar Pradesh that saw communal tensions last year.

"BJP, Modi and Amit Shah are trying to replicate the politics of hatred and communal divide like what was done in 2002 in Gujarat," party spokesman Randeep Surjewala told reporters.

Also Read: BJP defends Amit Shah`s "revenge" remarks

Meanwhile, the BJP defended Shah`s controversial "revenge" remarks in Uttar Pradesh, saying he has captured the "mood of the nation" and was asking the people to vote for party and Modi.

BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman used the opportunity to drag Congress president Sonia Gandhi into the controversy over her appeal to Shahi Imam of Delhi`s Jama Masjid, contending that the attempt to polarise the elections had been initiated by the "so-called secular" party.