Former Uttar Pradesh Governor Aziz Qureshi has been charged for sedition over his alleged derogatory remarks against the Yogi Adityanath government in the state, police said on Monday.
The FIR was lodged following a complaint by BJP leader Akash Kumar Saxena at the Civil Lines Police Station in Rampur district on Sunday.
In his complaint, Mr Saxena alleged that after visiting Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's house and meeting his wife Tazeen Fatma, Mr Qureshi made derogatory statements against the Yogi Adityanath government and compared it to a "blood-sucking demon". "The statement can create tension between two communities and create unrest in the society," Mr Saxena said in his complaint.
The BJP leader also handed over to police a pen drive containing Mr Qureshi's alleged statement which was aired by various news channels.
Qureshi was charged under sections 153A (promoting enmity between two groups on grounds of religion, race), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 124A (sedition), and 505(1)(B) (intent to cause fear or alarm to the public), a senior police officer said.
Mr Qureshi (81), is a senior Congress leader and had served as the Governor of Mizoram from 2014 to 2015. He also had charge of Uttar Pradesh for some time.
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