DEHRADUN: Arvind Pandey and Adesh Singh, two MLAs from Uttarakhand have been named in the list of politicians identified by Delhi-based think tank Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) as having cases related to hate-speeches against them. The list was released on Wednesday.Pandey is the state education minister and represents the Gadarpur seat in Udham Singh Nagar district. Adesh Singh who is from Congress represents the Jaspur seat in the district.According to the ADR list, there are 58 current MPs and MLAs who have declared cases related to hate speech, with BJP having the maximum number of such politicians.According to the ADR report, Pandey has 12 cases registered against him and of these three charges under section 332, two charges under section 153A. In serious charges, Pandey has been named in IPC section 171H, section 302, section 395 and section 325.Congress MLA, Adesh Singh, has six cases related to section 332, section 153A, section-295A, section-147, section 353 and section 268 of IPC against him.When contacted, Adesh Singh said that he has no case registered against him. “I have never given any hate speech and there is no case registered against me. I don’t know how ADR has put my name on their report. It is a mistake.”BJP spokesperson, Abhimanyu Kumar, said, “I am yet to read the exact findings of the ADR report. Arvind Pandey is a dynamic leader and he joins people in their protest. These cases are politically motivated by our rivals.”Congress spokesperson Mathura Dutt Joshi said that the party does not support hate speech in any form. “We are strongly against making any such speech that creates differences or provokes violence. The report shows BJP topping the list of parties with maximum hate speeches,” Joshi said.In a statement issued on Wednesday the ADR stated that the internet is an important tool for disseminating information and opinions, however, it also serves as a platform for disseminating unlawful speech. Political parties have been misusing the medium for unlawful statements. Hence, it is recommended that such unlawful statements on online platforms should be monitored and if the person found guilty, they should be penalised, said the ADR statement.The findings were based on the exhaustive analysis of the state-wise affidavits of submitted to the election commission, politicians from UP have the highest cases, 15 of MPs and MLAs with hate-related cases and Telangana comes second where 13 sitting MLAs and MPs are involved in the hate-related cases.

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