Senior Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Raja Pateria has triggered a controversy after he called on people to “kill” Modi to save the Constitution and the future of minorities and Dalits while addressing party workers at a meeting in Panna district’s Pawai tehsil. On Tuesday morning, the police arrested Pateria from his house in Panna after an FIR was registered against the Congress leader. While the BJP lashed out at the party, Pateria claimed he had been misunderstood. The Congress has sent him a show-cause notice. #Watch | MP Congress leader Raja Pateria was detained by the police from his house in Panna on Tuesday morning after an FIR was registered against him over his "kill Modi" remarks. Read: pic.twitter.com/x0nL4AlLKO — The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) December 13, 2022 Speaking to a group of workers on Sunday, Pateria can be heard in a video saying, “Any pressure from the government or administration needs to be resisted. I know him (district Congress chief) since he was the president of the Youth Congress. If he has taken your guarantee, he will not back down. I am repeating what I had said yesterday, that Modi will finish the elections. He will divide along the lines of religion, caste, and language. The lives of minorities, Dalits and Vanvasis (tribals) are in danger. If we have to save the Constitution, you have to be ready to kill Modi. Hatya (murder) in the sense harane ka kaam karo (work to defeat him) .” पूर्व मंत्री राजा पटेरिया द्वारा प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi की हत्या के लिए जनता और कांग्रेस कार्यकर्ताओं को उकसाना अत्यंत गंभीर और निंदनीय है। क्या हाल ही में मध्य प्रदेश से निकली राहुल गांधी की ‘भारत तोड़ो यात्रा’ में इस साजिश की तैयारी हुई? इसकी जांच होनी चाहिये। pic.twitter.com/oUn2dJIR9s — VD Sharma (@vdsharmabjp) December 12, 2022 Soon after his statement went viral, BJP leaders hit out at the Congress and its leaders. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “The reality of those doing the drama Bharat Jodo Yatra is coming to the fore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi resides in the heart of the masses, he is the centre of reverence and faith of the entire country. When the Congress cannot compete with him on the ground, the Congress leader is talking about killing Modi.” #Watch | Targeting Congress over Raja Pateria’s remarks on PM Modi, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the reality of those who are undertaking the Bharat Jodo Yatra is coming to the fore. He added that an FIR is being filed against Pateria. Read: pic.twitter.com/z1xXFUDdpq — The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) December 12, 2022 Chouhan also said an FIR was being registered and the law would take its course. Soon afterwards, Pateria was booked by the police in Pawai. Speaking to The Indian Express, Pateria, who is a vice president in the Pradesh Congress Committee, clarified that his idols are Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, BR Ambedkar, and Ram Manohar Lohiya. “My statement was misunderstood. I did not mean to literally kill the Prime Minister but to defeat him in elections. It was about defeating the government that is the supporter of (Nathuram) Godse’s ideology instead of Mahatma Gandhi’s,” he said. Who is Raja Pateria? Pateria is from Hatta tehsil in Damoh district. He started his political career with the Congress in 1971 in Jabalpur while studying at a science college. He was elected to public office for the first time after he won an Assembly by-election from Hatta in 1992. He successfully won his second term from Hatta in 1998 and found a place in the Digvijaya Singh-led government. He served as the state minister for technical education, medical education, and Information Technology from 1998 to 2003. During this period, he also was placed in charge of Panna district. Subsequently, after Hatta was declared a seat reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Pateria began expanding his reach in Panna and was given a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha election in 2009 from Khajuraho. But he lost to the BJP’s Jitendra Singh by a margin of over 27,000 votes. Pateria then concentrated on strengthening his position and rolled out an organisation called Adivasi, Vanvasi Dalit Mahsangh that fights for the rights of Adivasis and SCs. But this did not pay any dividends as the Congress leader lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Khajuraho by 2.5 lakh votes. Pateria is often referred to as a leader with Samajwadi ideology and is believed to be a part of the Digvijaya Singh camp in the state Congress. This is not the first time he has made a controversial statement while proving his point. According to sources, in a recent interview to a news channel when asked if more Congress MLAs could defect to the BJP, Pateria allegedly said, “In this age, one cannot trust his wife, these are still MLAs.” When asked about Pateria’s statements, senior Congress leader Suresh Pachori said, “I have not seen his statement, but if he has actually said how the media has reported it, then it is condemnable.” A Congress leader, requesting anonymity, said, “Congress is a party following the ideology of Gandhi and non-violence. Pateria's statements do not reflect the ideology of the party and considering this, the senior leaders might have sent him a show-cause notice. We are not like the BJP.”
