UP CM Adityanath under EC lens

The Election Commission has written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for violating the model code of conduct and gave him till February 7 to "explain" his position.

The EC said the UP Chief Minister has violated the code of conduct for "criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion". This move comes after after the EC received a report from the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi, informing the commission about a speech Adityanath gave in Delhi's Karawal Nagar on February 1.

This is in reference to his 'biryani' speech which Adityanath gave while referring to Shaheen Bagh's anti-CAA protests. He purportedly said, "Kejriwal may like to feed 'biryani' to Shaheen Bagh protesters. Its not something that BJP is keen on." He also referred to Pakistan and terrorists in that purported comment.

The AAP had demanded a ban on Adityanath campaigning in Delhi. BJP's Parvesh Verma and Anurag Thakur too were reprimanded by the poll body for their comments during the election campaign.