水牛に乗ってアピールのはずが…動物虐待で起訴へ　インド政治家

【パトナＡＦＰ＝時事】選挙活動中に水牛に乗って注目を集めようとしたインドの政治家が、動物虐待の罪で起訴される見通しだ。警察が21日、発表した。（写真はインド・ビハール州ガヤで、選挙活動中に水牛に乗るモハンマド・パルベス・マンスーリ氏）
　モハンマド・パルベス・マンスーリ氏は、２８日に始まる東部ビハール州の議会選挙で、ガヤ地区から出馬している。少数党に所属する同氏はＡＦＰに対し、車やバイクではなく動物に乗って移動することで、市内の大気汚染のひどさを強調する意図があったと説明した。
　だが、この行動は裏目に出た。当局はマンスーリ氏が、選挙活動に動物を使用することを禁じるインド選挙管理委員会のガイドラインに違反したと指摘。警察によると、マンスーリ氏は２０日に逮捕され、短期間拘束された後、釈放された。
　７０００万人の有権者を抱えるビハール州の議会選挙は、新型コロナウイルスのパンデミック（世界的な大流行）以降に実施されるものとしては、世界最大規模となる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/10/26-12:49）

An Indian politician who rode on a buffalo to draw attention to his campaign for an upcoming state election is set to be charged with animal cruelty, police said Wednesday.
Mohammad Parvez Mansoori, who is contesting a seat in Gaya in the eastern state of Bihar for the poll starting on October 28, told AFP he wanted to highlight pollution levels in the city by moving around on an animal rather than in a car or on a motorbike.
But his stunt backfired and authorities said he had violated guidelines from the Election Commission of India not to use animals for campaigning.
It was a clear cut case of cruelty to animals and a violation of guidelines, an officer at Civil Line police station, Uday Kumar, told AFP.
Photos shared on social media showed Mansoori riding on the back of a buffalo draped with a yellow cloth surrounded by a crowd of people.
Kumar said Mansoori, from the minor party Rashtriya Ulama Council, was arrested and briefly detained on Tuesday before being released. He will be charged with animal cruelty, Kumar added.
The poll in Bihar -- which has 70 million voters -- is set to be one of the biggest to take place worldwide since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The election commission has warned political parties to observe social distancing during campaigning, amid media reports of large, maskless crowds at rallies.
India is the world's second most-infected nation with more than 7.6 million coronavirus cases.
Bihar, one of India's poorest states, is currently run by a coalition between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a regional party.