Union Minister Giriraj Singh, while speaking at Bihar’s Purnia on Wednesday, 19 February, stoked yet another controversy with his statement that Muslims should have been sent to Pakistan in 1947.
"It is the time to commit ourselves to the nation. Before 1947, (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah pushed for an Islamic nation. It was a big lapse by our ancestors and we're paying the price for that. If at that time, Muslim brothers had been sent there and Hindus brought here, we wouldn't be in this situation. If Bharatvanshis don't get shelter here where will they go?" Bihar MP Singh said.
Singh’s comments come against the backdrop of nationwide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
He further said that “illegal Muslims and Rohingyas” should leave the country and that they have no right to stay there.
“Illegal Muslims should leave the country. People who are illegally staying, be it Muslims or Rohingyas, should leave the country. Illegal people have no right to stay in the country. People who are Bharatvanshis cannot be removed from the country. Why are people, who are citizens of India, scared? People who are scared, how are they citizens of India?”Union Minister Giriraj Singh
Giriraj Singh – A Repeat Offender
On 16 February, just three days before his Bihar speech, BJP chief JP Nadda had summoned Singh and cautioned him against making such remarks after he described Islamic seminary in Deoband as the “Gangotri of terrorism”.
Attacking the Opposition over the CAA, Singh said, “In Pakistan, will Muslims face religious persecution? In India, will the majority face persecution? If they have the courage, they should openly say that illegal immigrants from Pakistan should be given citizenship, Rohingyas should also be given citizenship and Bangladeshis should also be given.”
Giriraj Singh is not the only BJP leader to deliver hate speech. Union Minister Anurag Thakur sparked a controversy after he incited a crowd of supporters to raise slogans asking them to “gun down traitors” at an election rally, in the run-up to the recently concluded Delhi Assembly elections.
The BJP MP was seen encouraging supporters at a public meeting in Delhi’s Rithala on 27 January, by shouting, “Desh ke gaddaron ko...” with the crowd replying “goli maaro..” The Election Commission had handed Thakur a 72-hour campaign ban for his remarks.
Twitter Slams Singh’s Remarks
While some Twitter users condemned the Union Minister’s remarks, others questioned what action the BJP would initiate against him for the hate speech.
(With inputs from NDTV)
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