Image Courtesy:theguardian.com
Communalism has become rampant amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, and now it is getting an open push by the country’s who’s who, especially those from the ruling party.
Giving the medical pandemic a communal push, two days ago, a BJP MLA from Charpauli, Sahendra Singh Chauan, had called for the segregation of people from the Tablighi Jamaat sect and those from “their community” and asked people to “maintain distance” from them, reported The Indian Express.
The MLA, a former Rashtriya Lok Dal member, made the comments in a Facebook video.
5. BJP lawmaker (MLA Chaprauli), Sahendra Singh Chauhan from Uttar Pradesh is asking a bank in his constituency to “assign different time for Muslims so that they don’t mingle with common people”pic.twitter.com/zwGjsKZKoL
— Einstein ?? (@DesiPoliticks) April 20, 2020
In the video he said, “We all know that this disease is very dangerous and it would have very well been brought down in the first phase of lockdown. But certain members of a particular community and religion were found infected and the diseases has spread far. In my own constituency, several cases linked to Jamaat were found. It is my humble appeal that people should stay away from the members of the particular community. It is for their own safety and the safety of others around them.”
He also added, “I have spoken to the meal distribution team and the local magistrate that they should be given food separately and a time must be fixed for them to withdraw money. This is in the interest of the district and the nation.”
In the video, he has alleged that around 70 – 75 percent of the total Covid-19 cases in India are connected to the Tablighi Jamaat. He appealed to the people from his constituency to stay away from the people of the Jamaat and asked the respective authorities to ensure that they don’t come in contact with the general public.
However, when Chauhan spoke to The Indian Express, he said that his comments were only associated with members of the Tablighi Jamaat sect, and not to all of the Muslim community.
He said, “It is my belief that there will be peace in the community and it is not an indictment on Muslims. Several different communities reside together in the district. I only wish that people maintain distance from suspected cases and that they should be safe.”
Apart from Chauhan, Babita Kumari Phogat, wrestler and now member of the BJP, also commented on the Tablighi Jamaat saying that the coronavirus was the second biggest problem in the country, because “uncivilised Jamaatis” were at number one.
कोरोना वायरस भारत की दूसरे नंबर की सबसे बड़ी समस्या है।
जाहिल जमाती अभी भी पहले नंबर पर बना हुआ है।#jahiljamati
— Babita Phogat (@BabitaPhogat) April 15, 2020
An FIR was registered against her in the matter by a member of the Tablighi Jamaat in Maharashtra regarding her tweets on April 15 and April 2.
The tweet from April 2 was –
These hateful comments coming from people in positions of power, speaks volumes of the collective ideology that is borne by the people of the ruling party. It is common knowledge that there were multiple congregations in India, similar to that of the volume of the Tablighi Jamaat that took place during the coronavirus transmission. However, all these events were either under-reported or completely ignored, and only and only the Tablighi Jamaat was targeted for the rapid spread of the virus.
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