Poll panel acting against Varun under pressure: BJP

Chandigarh, April 1 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Wednesday urged the Election Commission (EC) to verify the authenticity of the CD containing Varun Gandhi's reported hate speech, and said that the poll panel's advisory against him seemed to have been made 'under some pressure'.

'The Election Commission took an unprecedented step of issuing an advisory to the BJP, asking the party not to make Varun Gandhi a candidate in the Lok Sabha elections. This hurried action is certainly illegitimate and it seems they are working under some pressure,' Balbir Punj, national secretary and spokesperson of the BJP said at a press conference here.

'The entire case is based on a CD that the EC has got through the media. From day one, Varun is saying that the CD is doctored but nobody is paying heed to him. They should verify the genuineness of that CD before jumping to any conclusion,' Punj said.

The Uttar Pradesh police Saturday arrested Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit for his alleged anti-Muslim speech and booked him under the National Security Act (NSA) Sunday for 'inciting violence' prior to his arrest.

Punj also slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for booking Varun under the NSA.

'Besides various charges, police have also booked him for attempt to murder and slapped the NSA on him. This is quite cynical as even (Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal) Kasab has not been booked under NSA till date,' the BJP leader said.