Will Help Even If You Don’t Vote for Me: Varun Gandhi to Muslims

Gandhi said at a rally that he would not mind if Muslims did not vote for him, and that he’d still help them.

Varun Gandhi.

(Photo: IANS)

Days after his mother Menaka Gandhi found herself in the middle of a storm for her comments about Muslims, BJP's Varun Gandhi said on Sunday, 21 April, that he would not mind if Muslims did not vote for him, adding that he would still help them.

“Bas mein ek cheez Muslim bhai ko bolna chahta hun ki agar aapne mujhe vote diya toh mujhe bahut accha lagega, agar aapne mujhe vote nahi diya, koi baat nahi, tab bhi mujh se kaam le le na, koi dikat ki baat nahi,” he said at a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit, reported ANI.

(Translation: I just have one thing to say to my Muslim brothers. I will feel very good if you vote for me. If you don't vote for me, it won't be a problem. You can still demand jobs from me, it is not an issue.)

Gandhi is contesting from Pilibhit in this election, while his mother is contesting from Sultanpur.

His remarks come after his mother was recorded on camera on 11 April at a rally ‘pressurising’ members of the Muslim community to vote for her, or she may not work towards fulfilling their needs when she wins.

Menaka said that she had “already won” the upcoming Lok Sabha poll and attempted to coerce the Muslim members of the audience attending her rally ‘to decide’ if they want her to work for them.

In response, the Election Commission had barred her from campaigning for 48 hours.

However, she later clarified her communal remark, saying that a media channel had played the section "out of context".

(With inputs from ANI.)