The Congress on Tuesday asked when Prime Minister Narendra Modi would wake up as another episode of hate speech involving BJP leaders targeting Muslims was greeted with silence at the top.
An impression has been created that anti-Muslim tirades are the surest way to rise in the BJP, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said on Tuesday.
“More than 72 hours have passed after elected representatives of the BJP called for complete social and economic boycott of Muslims, threatened to kill them one by one, but no action has been initiated by Delhi police,” she said.
Shrinate added: “When will the Prime Minister wake up? We saw how India was defamed and had to apologise to several countries for the conduct of one person (BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma). But BJP leaders continue to spew venom. Why do they speak like this? Because they know this is the surest way to rise in the BJP. This is an easy ticket to stardom in the BJP.
“Anurag Thakur is an example. The inspiration comes from the top; Modi and Amit Shah themselves use such language. We have the 80-versus-20 discourse (from Yogi Adityanath).”
She insisted that Modi doesn’t have the moral courage to act against hate-mongers.
The Congress spokesperson requested the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice as the judges have been expressing concern over hate speech.
Shrinate wondered why Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was silent, describing him as leader of a smaller outfit of the RSS with a similar mindset.
Although Delhi police have registered an FIR against the organisers saying the function was held without permission, Shrinate asked why the leaders who made hate speeches had not been arrested.
The meeting, described by VHP leader Vinod Bansal as “Jan Aakrosh Sabha”, was organised in protest against the murder of a Hindu youth a few days ago.
Videos of the event showed the BJP MP from West Delhi, Parvesh Verma, telling the audience: “Agar inka dimag theek karna hai, inki tabeeyat theek karni hai to ek hi ilaaz hai — sampoorna bahiskar (If we have to cure their mind, to teach them a lesson, there is only one treatment — a total boycott).” He went on to extract a pledge from the people to enforce a total boycott.
The BJP MLA from Loni in Ghaziabad, Nand Kishor Gurjar, was heard at the meeting making inflammatory comments about Mohammed Akhlaq, who was lynched on suspicion of storing beef at his home. He then added: “Then everyone from Rahul Gandhi to Akhilesh and Arvind Kejriwal cried as if their own son-in-law had died.”
BJP lawmakers weren’t the only ones to make hate speeches at the event. Hindutva leader Yogeshwar Acharya, sounding a call for violence against Muslims, said: “They don’t just have one, they have many. They want to have 14 marriages and give birth to 40 children. We must pay attention to such activities and must identify them and kill them one by one.”
