Stating that he would turn his Assembly seat Honnali into a fully “saffronised” constituency, at a pro-CAA rally he said, “I warn the Muslims. No development related activities will be taken up in their areas. They are not patriots. They don’t vote for the BJP. They did not vote for me in the 2018 Assembly elections. I will not seek their vote in the next election.”

Lashing out at the Opposition leaders for demanding a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) he said, “RSS is a patriotic organization. If anyone questions that, I won’t keep quiet. We will teach them a lesson.”

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday he said, “In our institutions, nothing anti-national is taught. We only teach values that are mandated for life. But in madarsas, youth are manipulated and taught terrorism. Why do we need such schools? The majority of those accused of terror are Muslims.”

Following up with a statement saying that what he meant did not imply that all Muslims were terrorists, he said, “They come to us seeking our help. They want the BJP for development, but when it comes to elections, they vote for Congress and JD(S),” adding that no “special packages” would be distributed to Muslims in his constituency.

Renukacharya had made a similar comment about development work back in 2018 too saying that it was the Hindus who had ensured his win and that he would work only to develop their community. Back then he had also asked corporators to not allow women clad in burqas, bearded men and those wearing caps – all a stereotypical portrayal of Muslims – near their office.

Our take: It seems like BJP leaders have made it their strategy to tackle their failure to deliver on the promise of development with hate. This is why they have started a hate campaign against protesters who are against the CAA and NRC. From Yogi Adityanath to the Vijayvargiyas, from Kapil Mishra to CT Ravi, from Parvesh Sahib Singh Varma to Dilip Ghosh; BJP leaders across the length and breadth of the country have engaged in hate speech and made comments to incite communal hatred and have openly threatened the minorities. How can they guarantee then that the CAA and NRC won’t be a threat to the future of the minorities in the country if they are using such fear tactics to get them to conform in the first place?

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He further also said that he will use the money allotted for Muslims for Hindus blatantly showing his toxic abhorrence and fascist mentality. He said, “I will put you [Muslims] in your place and show what politics is.”

This is not the first time a Karnataka BJP leader has made communal remarks targeting the minority community. Earlier, BJP MLA Somashekar Reddy had made controversial remarks at a pro-citizenship law protest in Ballari when he asked those opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act to think of the “consequences” if the majority community members hit the streets against them. For this statement a case was filed against Reddy for making such a provocative statement. 

Our take: BJP leadership’s now frequent impunity in openly threatening the Muslim community is reflective of their fascist ideology which is not only being propagated widely but is also seeping into the society. While it is feeding into right wing voters who now openly display their supremacist agenda and fake pride, is also creating a climate of fear for Muslims in India. As the protesters are rightly pointing out, the BJP government’s policies and laws are clearly in furtherance of their despicable anti-Muslim agenda.

The post Karnataka BJP MLA threatens to “put Muslims in place” appeared first on SabrangIndia.

He had posted the following tweet on January 18:

दिल्ली में भाजपा की सरकार बनते ही सरकारी जमीनों पर बने धार्मिक स्थलों को सरकारी जमीन से खाली कराया जाएगा ।दिल्ली में 54 से ज़्यादा मस्जिद, मदरसे सरकारी जमीन पर बने होने की शिकायत अभी तक आई है। सूची दिल्ली के उपराज्यपाल को पहले ही दी जा चुकी है।#PTI

— Parvesh Sahib Singh (@p_sahibsingh) January 18, 2020

(translation: “The government land on which religious places are constructed will be vacated after BJP forms government in Delhi. Complaints have come regarding more than 54 mosques and madrassas on government land in Delhi. The list has already been given to the Lt Governor.”

Later at a press conference he said that if temples and gurudwaras are also found on government land, he is ready to take up the matter with authorities. But subsequently he made a rather bizarre claim saying, “no temple or gurudwara are found on government land, only mosques are found on government land”.

Last year in June, he had taken up this matter with Delhi’s LG Anil Baijal and had furnished list of 50 cases of encroachment on government land by mosques. However, when Delhi Minorities Commission looked into the matter by forming a fact-finding committee, it found out that Verma’s claims were all false.

Our take: It’s hard to say whether this is an appeasement tactic for Hindus or another method of increasing the fear psychosis in the Muslim community in Delhi. Either ways it is a patently divisive tactic that aims at creating a communal atmosphere and feed into fake pride and ‘nationalism’ of supremacist forces.

The post Decoding hate: BJP MP talks about razing mosques in Delhi appeared first on SabrangIndia.

While making inflammatory comments, he also alleged that the protesters are trying to instill fear among the people. He further alleged that the protesters are filling their pockets by collecting donations from people in the name of protests. He also mocked the protests saying that “In a land with 3.5 crore people, just few groups of them came out in protest (of CAA). Are they the public?”

Our take: In the protests across the country, many a times the police have themselves admitted that some miscreants and not protesters are destroying public property. Protesters have gathered only with the intention to peacefully hold a rally or march to voice their agitation and dissent against the divisive policies of the government. To undermine these protests, the BJP leadership is coming out and maling inflammatory speeches to ignite a sentiment of hatred among its supporters against protesters who are being portrayed as ones initiating violence and destructing public property.

Mrinal Saikia’s speech can be viewed at the following link:

The post BJP’s Assam MLA incites people to beat up protesters appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Photo Credit: Hanif Sindhi, Mail Today 

The total number of people convicted in the case now stands at 15 including Babu Bajrangi whose conviction was upheld. Earlier 12 people had been convicted On Friday, the Gujarat HC reversed the acquittals of three others. The court upheld the conviction of Babu Bajrangi. Suresh a.k.a Richard Charra has also been found guilty. Charra had been accused of rape and had earlier offered the ridiculous defence that he could not have raped a Muslim woman as he was married to one! Meanwhile, Kodnani’s personal assistant KS Chabda was also acquitted.
 
What happened in Naroda Patiya
 
On February 28, 2002, a mob of nearly 5000 people stabbed, burnt alive, looted, raped and sexually assaulted the residents of Naroda Patiya, a mostly Muslim neighbourhood in the suburbs of Ahmedabad. The mob comprised members of Bajrang Dal and the carnage lasted over 10 hours during a ‘bandh’ call given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in wake of the Godhra Train Burning incident. Official death toll in the Naroda Patiya case stands at 97.
 
A Special Investigation Team had said that a day after the Godhra incident, Maya Kodnani incited mobs and was seen at the spot by 11 witnesses. Witnesses had told the court that she handed out swords to rioters, exhorted them to attack Muslims and at one point fired a pistol. Even phone records placed Kodnani in Naroda at the time of the incident.
 
How the case progressed
 
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate various Gujarat riots cases. Special judge Jyotsna Yagnik had convicted 31 others along with Maya Kodnani on August 29, 2012. 29 people were acquitted for lack of evidence. Babu Bajrangi was first awarded life sentence, but this was later commuted to 21 years in prison. Maya Kodnani was granted bail due to ill health in 2014. The convicts appealed the case in the Gujarat High Court where hearing concluded in August 2017.
 
You can read more about the August 2012 Naroda Patiya judgment here.
 
The Gujarat HC judgment
 
The Gujarat High Court acquitted Kodnani stating they found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy in the riots. The HC noted that none of the 11 witnesses had named Kodnani when the case was being registered. “Eleven witnesses gave different statements on Maya Kodnani’s presence at the location, there were contradictions,” said special public prosecutor Prashant Desai. 
 
Advocate Suhel Tirmizi says, “This acquittal is worth challenging and we have sufficient material against Maya Kodnani. We hope and wish victims’ families and survivors would approach the Supreme Court with CJP and appeal against this judgment.” Tirmizi also said that the SC rejected not only a demand for compensation for the victims but also the demand for further investigation in the case.
 

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