Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Venkaiah Naidu on Monday lashed out at the Uttar Pradesh government for clamping the stringent National Security Act on Varun Gandhi, who is the party's candidate for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh.
Addressing the media at Bangalore on Monday, Naidu said that the procedure undertaken by the UP government, to book Gandhi under the NSA, was not in accordance with the law. It is essential to acquire the consent of the government to invoke the NSA, and the case against Varun will not stand the test of legal scrutiny due to this lacuna, he said.
Criticising the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party government in Uttar Pradesh, Naidu said that the state government's actions against Gandhi will 'expose' the BSP. He claimed that the UP government's action against Gandhi was an act of conspiracy due to personal vendetta.
Citing the example of Parliament attacks accused Afzal Guru, Naidu said, "Why are these parties soft on hardcore militants? Do these parties have the guts to speak out against these people? It is unfortunate that these parties are doing all this to stop a young man like Varun Gandhi".
