BJP MP Anil Bonde booked by police in Maharashtra over 'Rahul Gandhi's tongue should be singed' remarks

Rahul Gandhi. File Pic/PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha member Anil Bonde was booked by the Amravati Police in Maharashtra over his controversial 'Rahul Gandhi's tongue should be singed' remarks, an official said on Wednesday, reported the PTI.

Anil Bonde was booked on the charge of intention to cause riots over his controversial remarks against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the police said.

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Anil Bonde had recently kicked up a row, saying Rahul Gandhi's tongue should be singed as his remarks on reservation were "dangerous" and hurt the feelings of the 'bahujan' and majority communities, as per the PTI.

The FIR against Anil Bonde followed a sit-in protest by Congress leaders, including Amravati MP Balwant Wankhede, MLA Yashomati Thakur, former Minister Sunil Deshmukh and the party workers at the office of the city police commissioner.

A case was registered against Bonde at Rajapeth police station in Amravati under sections 192 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riots), 351 (ii) (the act of intentionally causing another person to apprehend the use of criminal force) and 356 (Punishment for defamation) against MP Anil Bonde.

"The language of chopping off the tongue is not proper, but what Rahul ji said against reservation is dangerous," Bonde said on Tuesday while reacting to remarks made by a Shiv Sena MLA against Rahul Gandhi, according to the PTI.

"Hence, if anyone speaks anything absurd in a foreign country, then rather than chopping off his tongue, it should be singed. It is necessary to certainly singe the tongues of such people - be it Rahul Gandhi, Dnyanesh Maharao or Shyam Manav and people who hurt the feelings of the 'bahujan' and majority," Anil Bonde said, the news agency reported on Wednesday.

Maharao, an author, is accused of making derogatory comments on Hindu deities recently, while Manav is an anti-superstition crusader.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday expressed shock over media reports of 'threat' to Congress top leader Rahul Gandhi and demanded that the Centre act swiftly to ensure his protection.

In a post on X, Stalin said: "Deeply shocked by media reports of a BJP leader's threat that @RahulGandhi 'will meet the same fate as his grandmother,' and a Shinde Sena MLA's bounty for cutting his tongue, along with other intimidating threats."

"My brother Rahul Gandhi's charisma and growing public support have clearly unsettled many, leading to such vile acts of intimidation. The Union government must act swiftly to ensure protection for the Leader of the Opposition and reaffirm that intimidation and violence have no place in our democracy," Stalin, also the chief of Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK, said.

(with PTI inputs)