The Saharanpur police lodged an FIR against former Samajwadi Party MP Rashid Masood on Wednesday,for his alleged derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Mayawati,made during a rally on Tuesday. Masood has been booked under Sections 188,189 and 505 of the IPC,which includes disobedience to order duly promulgated by the public servant,threat of injury to public servant and statement causing public mischief. The FIR has been lodged at Kutubsher police station in Saharanpur city by Station Officer Muneesh Kumar. Masood,however,denied all allegations. It is an act of political vendetta against me and my family. During the last three years,over three dozen cases have been lodged against me and my relatives,including my wife and daughter-in-law, he said. I did not say anything unparliamentarily or disrespectful about the chief minister. I just referred to a popular Urdu phrase explaining why I have no intention of meeting Mayawati,because a BSP leader had recently conveyed to me that all my problems would end if I met her, he added. Ever since Mayawati came to power in 2007,the UP government has unleashed a reign of terror against me and my family. We are under pressure to join the Bahujan Samaj Party, Masood alleged. According to Masood,the state government had upgraded the Saharanpur Nagarpalika to Nagar Nigam only to remove his nephew Imran Masood,who was the chairman there. Earlier,the government had removed Imran,but its action was stayed by the High Court,Masood added. Jagdish Singh Rana,BSP MP from Saharanpur,denied that Masood was being victimised. Rana,once an acolyte of Masood,was a Cabinet minister in the Samajwadi Party-led government from 2003 to May 2007. He later switched sides,joined the BSP and was elected to the Lok Sabha in May 2009. The BSP or the state government has nothing to do with the FIR. The law is taking its own course. Rashid Masood had made intemperate remarks against the chief minister and the police have taken suo motu cognizance of the matter, said Rana.
