Ranchi, Oct 26 (PTI) The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) on Saturday took cognisance of Congress Minister Irfan Ansari’s alleged derogatory remarks about BJP leader Sita Soren and issued a notice to the Jharkhand government, asking for a report within three days on the allegations and actions taken.
The notice was served to chief secretary, DGP, principal secretary of home department, Jamtara deputy commissioner and SP.
In its notice, the NCST stated that it might issue “summons” to the officials to appear before the commission if it does not receive a response within the stipulated period.
On Friday, the BJP’s state unit filed a complaint with the EC accusing Ansari of making derogatory remarks about party leader Soren.
Soren shared a video of the alleged remarks on X, demanding an apology from the Congress minister. In response, Ansari referred to the video as “tampered.” On Saturday, a Jharkhand Congress delegation submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission demanding stern action against the BJP for allegedly tarnishing the image of Ansari.
The Congress delegation handed over a pen drive containing the “original” video of Ansari to Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar.
They claimed that the BJP is circulating a “misleading” and “distorted” version of the video on social media in an attempt to tarnish Ansari’s image.
The BJP has nominated Soren to contest against Ansari in the Jamtara assembly seat, which will go to the polls in the second phase on November 20.
Congress leader Rajesh Gupta said Ansari has consistently been a target for BJP leaders. “The allegations against Ansari are baseless. Since the BJP is lagging in the Jamtara assembly race, its leaders are resorting to such statements to remain relevant,” Gupta said.
The Congress requested the poll panel to take strict action to prevent such “false” and “misleading” propaganda in the future, ensuring that the electoral process remains fair and clean.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan condemned the alleged remarks made by Ansari about Soren, labeling them an insult to the women of Jharkhand. He urged Chief Minister Hemant Soren to immediately remove Ansari from his cabinet for such statements. PTI SAN MNB
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