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"Throw away 25 percent of Indian Muslims", "Make India a Hindu Rashtra", "mass conversion" and "mass deportation" of Muslims - these were some of the demands made at the 'Sanatan Rashtra Shankhnad Mahotsav', organised by the Sanatan Sanstha at Delhi's Bharat Mandapam on 13-14 December.
The Quint had broken the story about hate speeches given at the event as well as the fact that it was backed by the Union Ministry of Culture and Delhi's Tourism Ministry.
Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Shripad Naik and Sanjay Seth, and Delhi's tourism minister Kapil Mishra even spoke at the event.
As a follow-up, we filed a query under the Right to Information Act with both the concerned ministries as to whether they had given funds for conducting the event.
We found that the Union Culture Ministry gave Rs 63 lakh to Sanatan Sanstha. This is what the ministry said in its response.
We are yet to receive a response from Delhi's tourism ministry.
Here are some of the hate comments made at the event
"25% Muslims in India presently are infiltrators. They are Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Afghanis. Bring NRC and remove them from India." - Suresh Chavhanke, Sudarshan TV chief
"There needs to be a cap on Muslim population." - Suresh Chavhanke
"Can't Muslims be made to convert to Hinduism for fear of the government." - Ashwini Upadhyay, BJP leader
"If every Hindu converts one person, we will be able to achieve our target." - Ashwini Upadhyay
"There are so many businessmen here. They can easily make their employees convert." - Ashwini Upadhyay
"We need an offensive strategy...we need a constitutional Hindu Rashtra." - Rahul Dewan, Hindu Fund
"If they mix ammonium nitrate in laddoos, lakhs of Hindus will die." - Rahul Dewan
The point isn't whether Rs 60 lakh is a big amount or small one. The question is - why is taxpayers' money being used to fund an event that calls for the cleansing of a community? Why should taxpayers foot the bill for an event that goes against the Constitution by demanding a Hindu Rashtra?