Date: 25-04-2019
Constituency: MLA from Una, HP
Himachal Pradesh’s BJP leader Satpal Singh Satti threatened to shop off the hands of anyone opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing a rally in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, he said “Our leaders are sitting on the dais. If anyone dares to raise their finger, we would chop their hands off. We are not nincompoops. We are not a group of stupid people”. Satti is the BJP party chief for Himachal Pradesh.
Date: 22-04-2019
Constituency: Secunderabad, Telangana
BJP leader of Telengana Bandaru Dattatreya said that Hyderabad has become a safe haven for “Islamic terrorists”. According to him, police is unable to take stern action against the terrorists because the ruling party Telangana Rashtriya Samiti is aligned with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, a recognised regional political party. Basically indicating that such parties are soft on “Islamic terrorists”. Bandaru was referring to a recent raid by the NIA in Maharashtra and Hyderabad on ISIS terror modules. He said “Recent investigations of NIA reveal that Hyderabad is a safe haven for Islamic terrorist activities. A large number of people are being recruited in Hyderabad, “TRS government is aligned with AIMIM that is why the police are sometimes unable to take stern action.”
Date: 22-04-2019
Constituency: Beed, Maharasthra
BJP leader in Maharashtra Pankaja Munde proposed tying a bomb to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Her statement was in response to Rahul’s questioning of the effectiveness of the airstrike. Pankaja said “They [Opposition] say ‘what is this surgical strike and who did it’, “Then you should have tied a bomb to Rahul Gandhi and sent him to another country. Then they would have understood.”
Such remarks are very common to hear whenever anyone in the opposition even attempts to question the effectiveness of the Balakot airstrike. The BJP has a set knee jerk response to such accusations which is usually to send the questioner to Pakistan.
Following actions are reported to have been taken has been taken by the administration till now against the above mentioned hate speeches:
Date: 21-04-2019
BJP candidate from Bhopal, Pragya Thakur, who is the prime accused in the Malegaon terror case (2008), in an interview to television channel TV9 confessed that she was among the people who demolished the Babri Masjid in 1992 and was ‘proud of it’. She said “We had removed a blot from the country. We had gone to demolish the structure. I climbed atop the structure and broke it and I feel extremely proud that God gave me this opportunity….”.
Earlier, in a campaign speech, Thakur boasted how she had cursed Hemant Karkare, senior police officer leading the investigation into the Malegaon case (in which 4 persons were killed and 79 injured). She said “I had told him you will be finished, and he was killed by terrorists in less than two months”. The Maharashtra ATS under Karkare had concluded that the blast was the work of right wing Hindu groups, with Pragya Thakur as the key accused.
Pragya has received two back to back notices from the Election Commission of India over her comments, with the notice on her Babri masjid claim quoting rule against “creating mutual hatred or causing tension between different communities”. Although Pragya has issued an apology on her statement on Hemant Karkare, she maintained her stance on Babri Masjid. After receiving the EC notice, Thakur was reported as saying, “Yes, I had gone there, I had said it yesterday too, not denying it. I had demolished the structure. I will go there and help in the construction of the Ram Temple, nobody can stop us from doing that”.
There has been widespread public condemnation of the BJP for having fielded Thakur as an MP candidate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defended this decision going so far as to say (20-04-2019) that Thakur’s candidature from Bhopal was a symbol to answer all those who had “branded as terrorist” and demeaned a great civilization, referring to what has been called ‘Saffron Terror’ – Hindutva groups engaging in terrorist violence targeting minorities.
BJP chief, Amit Shah too defended this decision, claiming that the allegations against her were all false (22-04-2019).
Date: 19-04-2019
Source: https://www.aninews.in/news/national/politics/cast-vote-in-favour-of-bjp-if-you-want-to-destroy-muslims-bjp-leader20190419132856/ ; https://www.asianage.com/india/politics/190419/vote-in-favour-of-bjp-if-you-want-to-destroy-muslims-bjp-leader.html
BJP leader Ranjeet Bahadur Srivastava made a controversial statement threatening to destroy the Muslim community. Addressing an election rally of BJP candidate from Barabanki parliamentary constituency, Upendra Rawat, 19th April 2019, Srivastava said “In the past five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made attempts to break the morale of the Muslims. Vote for PM Modi if you want to destroy the breed of Muslims”. He further added “after the Lok Sabha elections, the party will bring machines from China to shave 10-12 thousand Muslims and later will force them to adopt Hindu religion.” He asked people to vote for the BJP in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections or else, “get ready to face consequences if you do not vote for the BJP.”
An FIR has been registered against Ranjeet for violating the model code of conduct, it has been reported. It is not sure if a case of hate speech too has been made in the FIR.
This is not the first time that the BJP leader has made overt threats against a section of the populace. In 2017 civic polls in Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh), Ranjeet was reported as threatening Muslims to vote for his wife – Shashi Srivastav, BJP candidate there – or face all kinds of difficulties. This is even as two senior ministers of the BJP-ruled state government were present. [ https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/vote-my-wife-or-else-bjp-leader-ranjeet-kumar-srivastava-warns-muslims-about-difficulties-1776574 ]
Date: 19-04-2019
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a contentious remark implicitly accusing the opposition party of appeasing the Muslim vote bank. Addressing a BJP election rally in Bagalkot in north Karnataka, Modi said “Yahan ke mukhyamantri ne saaf-saaf kaha ki Pakistan ke Balakot par air strike ko jyada na uchhala jaye, unka votebank naraaz ho jayega. Aap bataiye, Congress aur JD(S) ka votebank Bagalkot mein hai, ya phir Balakot mein?” (The Chief Minister here said clearly that the air strike in Pakistan’s Balakot should not be highlighted, as his vote bank would be affected. You tell me, is the vote bank of Congress and JD(S) in Bagalkot or in Balakot?)
Claiming that the Congress Party and “its vote bank” are very soft on the adversaries of the country, Modi claimed that the previous government was afraid of Pakistan but now “Pakistan is going around the world crying and saying — save us, save us — this Modi is hitting us,”.
Date: 17-04-2019
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, at ab election rally in Andharathari, Jhanjharpur/Madhubani, asked women not to feed their spouses if they do not vote for the NDA candidate. Nitish Kumar said “Ask your spouse to exercise his franchise. If he votes for the NDA candidate, feed him well. If he doesn’t, keep him hungry for the day”. The statement of Nitish is an apt example of political leaders tacitly coercing people’s freedom of choice and expression, which counts as an assault on fundamental rights.
Date: 16.04.2019
Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu attempted to seek votes using religion at a rally in Barasol at Balarampur assembely constituency in Katihar, Bihar. The Congress leader appealed to Muslims to unite to overthrow the Modi regime. Sidhu said “Do not consider yourself as being in a minority. You constitute the majority here. You are about 64 per cent. Do not fall into the trap laid down by people like Owaisi (president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen). They have been propped up by the BJP”.
Date: 13-04-2019
Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2019/apr/18/ls-polls-2019-kerala-bjp-chief-ps-sreedharan-pillai-booked-for-derogatory-remark-on-muslims-1965944.html ; https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/enmity-case-on-kerala-bjp-chief/cid/1689031
Constituency: Chengannoor, Kerala
Kerela’s BJP state chief P.S.Sreedharan Pillai in a controversial remark said that Muslims could be identified by removing their pants. Addressing an election campaign meeting in the Attingal Lok Sabha constituency on April 14 (PLS CHECK DATE, as ABOVE SAYS 13/4) the Minister said “The dead bodies…if they are Muslims then there will be a few signs… only you remove the dresses only then it can be found out…,”. The Minister was countering remarks made by the opposition parties on the success of Indian airstrike in Balakot Pakistan, he previous month.
The Kerala police on Wednesday filed a case against Pillai for making anti-Islam remarks. The Kerala Chief Electoral Officer recommended appropriate action against Pillai. Attingal police has booked the leader under Section 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc) and 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Hate Watch 2019 