‘Will be safe if constitution is safe’ Congress’s Imran Masood courts controversy ahead of Saharanpur poll

Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 13 (ANI): Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Congress leader and party candidate from Saharanpur Imran Masood stirred a fresh controversy by saying that if the BJP comes to power, "Muslims will be treated badly" and that "this election is not just about winning or losing, but to save ourselves (Muslims)."
"This election is not about defeating or winning. This is a choice about saving yourself. If BJP comes to power, the first treatment will be for me and you..." he said on Thursday.
After his video viral, Masood clarified his remark and said that the people will only be safe when the country's constitution is safe.
"We'll be only safe when the country's constitution is safe. We are afraid of them (BJP). They are doing whatever they want to. They jailed a sitting Chief Minister (Arvind Kejriwal). They broke every ritual and rule. People are afraid of saying what they want to. Freedom of speech has been granted through the Constitution. They speak whatever they want to, but if anyone else says something, they nab and do their treatment," Masood told ANI.
Meanwhile, the BJP reacted to Masood's statement and called it unfortunate.
"This is unfortunate. The people of Uttar Pradesh will answer this. For Indian Muslims, there's no better place than India, no better friend than Hindu and no better leader than PM Modi. The leaders of the Congress party want to take the vote by scaring the Muslims," BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said.
Saharanpur will go to polls in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19. The BJP has fielded Raghav Lakhan Pal Sharma from the constituency.
The Lok Sabha election 2024 in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases from April 19 to June 1. Votes polled in the seven phases of the Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha election 2024 will be counted on June 4.
In the 2019 elections, turning the arithmetic of the SP-BSP 'Mahagatbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh upside down, the BJP and its ally Apna Dal (S) won 64 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats. The partners in the alliance, Akhilesh Yadav's SP and Mayawati's BSP could only muster 15 seats.
The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases starting April 19. (ANI)