Anurag Thakur, Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs, has stoked controversy by raising inflammatory slogans while campaigning for a BJP candidate for the upcoming Delhi Elections. Delhi is expected to go to polls on February 8.
The inflammatory slogan which has been raised by pro-CAA rallies by BJP supporters has been condemned by the BJP higher ups and hence it was shocking that a Union Minister would resort to such sloganeering. At the rally, Thakur shouted, “desh ke gaddaron ko” and the crowd responded with “goli maaro saalon ko [shoot the traitors to the country]”.
In the video he be seen asking “ye kaun hai gaddar” to which the crowd responds “Kejriwal” and he asks, “Pappu ko bhool gaye?” (Who are these traitors?) (Have you forgotten about Pappu? – reference to Rahul Gandhi).
A senior officer at the Delhi Chief Electoral Office said that they have taken cognisance of the incident but also said that they have not received any complaints to that regard. The Delhi Chief Electoral Office has sought a report from the North West district’s election officer with regards to this incident.
Congress has demanded strict action from the Election Commission saying that BJP is “back to its favourite game of polarisation”. Congress spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee called the incident “outrageous, provoking and scary” and said that Thakur was simply following footsteps of BJP’s senior leadership who recognise protestors by their clothes, an apparent reference to PM Modi’s speech at a Jharkhand election rally.
The video can be viewed here:
In retaliation, Saket Gokhale, a prominent twitter user, wrote a letter to Delhi Police asking for permission to hold a rally with the same slogan. In his tweet he said, if they grant permission, they will have to answer in court and if they refuse, they need to arrest Anurag Thakur as well as Kapil Sharma, the BJP Delhi candidate for raising the slogan.
Important:
I’m applying for permission to @DelhiPolice this week for taking out a rally chanting “desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko”.
This is the only way left for getting Delhi Police to answer whether this disgusting slogan is allowed under law.
(1/2)
— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) January 27, 2020