Saharanpur, UP, Mar 29 (NDTV): Congress candidate Imran Masood who threatened to "chop Narendra Modi to pieces" has been arrested for his hate speech against the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate.

A video of him making these remarks has gone viral on the web igniting a new political controversy ahead of next month's national election.

Masood, 40, who is contesting from Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh, later said he never threatened to kill Modi. "I meant that I would teach him a lesson," he told NDTV.

An FIR or First Information Report accused him of violating the election code of conduct, but it is not clear when and where the comments were made.

The police say they received the video CD on Thursday.

Masood claims he spoke those words eight months ago, when he was with the Samajwadi Party.

The scandal has erupted ahead of Rahul Gandhi's rally in Saharanpur today. The Congress condemned its candidate's remarks but has not cancelled the rally. Senior party leader Digvijaya Singh, however, said the comments should not go unpunished.

In the CD, Masood says, "I am a man of the street, ready to give my life for my people. I am neither afraid of death or of killing. He thinks this is Gujarat. There are only 4% Muslims in Gujarat. There are 42% Muslims here."

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said the comments reflect a mindset that believes "abusing Modi is an expression of aggressive secularism." He also referred to Sonia Gandhi's "Maut Ka Saudagar (merchant of death)" barb in 2007 against Modi.

Modi, 64, is contesting his first parliamentary election from Varanasi, 800 km away in India's largest and most politically vital state. In his speech, Masood warns the BJP leader against "turning Uttar Pradesh into Gujarat." 

Modi's critics accuse him of not doing enough to stop the 2002 riots that tore through his Gujarat. A Supreme Court inquiry has said there is no evidence of Modi's alleged collusion in the violence; a local court upheld that report recently.

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