MP Ramesh Bidhuri | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Wed, 27 Sep 2023 04:57:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png MP Ramesh Bidhuri | SabrangIndia 32 32 Is There a Hidden Narrative Behind Slurs Hurled in Parliament? https://sabrangindia.in/is-there-a-hidden-narrative-behind-slurs-hurled-in-parliament/ Wed, 27 Sep 2023 04:56:19 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=30047 BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s outburst in the Lok Sabha empowers neither women nor the backward classes.

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The recent development in Parliament, of sitting Lok Sabha member Kunwar Danish Ali being referred to as a “terrorist” and “pimp” by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Ramesh Bidhuri, who also threatened to settle scores with Ali outside Parliament, might illuminate the larger narrative structure of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

However, we need to raise a different set of questions and offer an analysis different from what prevails in media reports and editorials. Repeated incidents of such a kind are often treated as “stray incidents” that are aberrations, and, therefore, condemning them and tendering an apology is not a problem for the ruling party.

However, this explanation may no longer help us understand the social character and narrative velocity of such incidents. We could, for instance, ask whether the remarks about Ali were off-the-cuff or planned as a part of a narrative. There is no way to know the answer, but one can reasonably raise the question as to what kind of a narrative and performance is potentially possible out of such a seemingly “shocking incident”.

Is there a pattern to such incidents, or are they as random as they are projected? Did not the BJP apologise on a previous occasion when Pragya Singh Thakur had celebrated the “martyrdom” of Nathuram Godse? Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at the time that she could never be excused, but she went on to become a vocal Member of Parliament of his party.

Godse at home, Gandhi in the world is a fairly well-known strategy, and nothing about it looks random and happenstance.

Does it matter that Bidhuri is a Member of Parliament from the South Delhi seat and belongs to the Gujjar caste, recognised as an Other Backward Class (OBC) community? Is this, possibly, an incident that could wade off the potential damage that the Women’s Reservation Bill without a quota for the OBCs could do to the BJP’s electoral calculations? Has it not been a long-term strategy of the BJP to consolidate different social groups by producing a conflict between them and eventually acting as their only arbiter?

Is it possible that the “strategy” here is to consolidate women voters—both as women and as women of caste Hindu sections—and then project a masculine OBC voice against Muslims as a token of inclusivity and the voice of the BJP? Women are happy with the Bill and the OBCs with Bidhuri’s “heroic” abrasiveness. The reservation for women proposed in the Bill is a distant promise, so there is nothing for the male Members of Parliament to worry about for the time being or for the OBCs to think of the quota immediately.

As Modi hinted, for all of this to fructify, there is a need for a strong government with a decisive majority. So, it is a narrative of wheels within wheels that is open to multiple significations depending on one’s social location. The critical question, however, is the strategic ability of the BJP to mobilise contending social groups by deepening the social conflict between them without empowering either of them; in this case, neither the women nor the OBCs.

In the triple talaq case, Muslim men were criminalised, and Muslim women did not get alimony. The Congress party included, through accommodation, the BJP attempts to “include” by excluding others. Such a strategy is part of the majoritarian logic that does not begin or end with Hindu-Muslim polarisation but seeps into caste and gender relations, too.

In fact, one could argue that the modality of polarisation vis-a-vis the Muslims emerged from caste dynamics and sensibilities. Caste-based discrimination is unique in that the “lower”-end castes are neither allowed mobility nor to detach themselves. Detachment is rebuked through anti-conversion, and empowerment is rebuked as casteism. It is the logic of “absent presence” that Dalits define the contours of the caste order, dynamics and psyche by lying outside the formal caste/varna system.

Communalism in India and majoritarian dynamics are deeply marked by the sensibilities born out of managing the caste system and inequalities. Muslims, too, are integral to the order—again, without inclusion. The Dalits and Muslims are internal without inclusion. This is the precise reason why RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said there can be no Hindutva without Muslims. Hindutva and a majoritarian order need every day and periodic referendums. It has to be built into every day to become a reality. It requires a quotidian reification and cannot be passed by law or instituted through custom or memory, though both are also invoked to strengthen the majoritarian project.

The Opposition parties did not hesitate to criticise the brazen act of incivility in Parliament, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has made it a mission to plant an alternative narrative of love and compassion and support compassion. While this does come as a relief, will it suffice to address the schisms being deepened through the dominant narrative? A narrative about love and compassion is vague, if not abstract. It creates an atmosphere for an alternative but may not provide an alternate frame to make sense of things.

The Opposition is failing to articulate and counter the micro-narratives within the BJP’s strategy. Why does the BJP think it can be indifferent towards women in the case of molestation of wrestlers and parading of women in Manipur, yet continue claiming the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” slogan, followed by introducing the Women’s Reservation Bill? It can afford to neglect the OBC quota for women but counter it with Bidhuri’s offensive comments.

Perhaps it is possible because the BJP sees it through the lens of a live narrative and connects the dots, which gives it the advantage of control over the narrative, while the Opposition only has bullet points based on evidence and visualises each incident as a separate event disconnected from everything else.

It might reflect both a lack of clarity and conviction on the part of the Opposition to connect things because it will have to offer a more transformative politics, which has to transcend the current limits. The BJP has grown by precisely projecting itself as the harbinger of a more “progressive” narrative and demonstrated it in raising the gender question, the issue of caste within Muslims and the question of sub-castes within the Hindus—even as it appealed to a larger, common Hindu identity.

The Opposition has to change the terms of discourse to take control, but for now, it is treading carefully to find space by responding in an ad hoc manner.

The author is an associate professor at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. The views are personal. His new book, Politics, Ethics, Emotions in ‘New India’, was recently published by Routledge.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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No Primetime Segment as anti-Muslim slurs rocked parliament last Thursday https://sabrangindia.in/no-primetime-segment-as-anti-muslim-slurs-rocked-parliament-last-thursday/ Mon, 25 Sep 2023 09:45:43 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=30017 Anti-Muslim slurs against MP in parliament do not make the cut for commercial new media channels (“mainstream media”) even as social media was ablaze with outrage last Friday

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A SabrangIndia Special Report

Anti-Muslim slurs by a BJP MP, Ramesh Bhiduri against a sitting Muslim MP in parliament seem to have been given significantly less media attention on Friday despite the fact that the issue was covered exclusively by international media outlets like Al Jazeera. The incident saw an erasure from the Primetime news segments which reveals a disturbing reality where big media seems to be revolving around the whims of the ruling party rather than on focussing on what the nation actually wants to know.  Few debates on the infamous news hour on Indian channels actually dealt with the rank unparliamentary language unleashed by an elected official that was an ugly first for Indian democracy under the Modi 2.0 regime.

Here’s how the events unfolded.

On Thursday, September 21, during the much-speculated upon “special session” of the Indian Parliament, a BJP MP hurled slurs and abuses at an MP Kunwar Danish Ali as the BSP MP objected against the unparliamentary language Bidhuri used for PM Modi.

The MP in question was BJP Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Bidhuri who represents South Delhi constituency. In a video that has since surfaced, Bidhuri can be heard delivering a highly charged speech with communal undertones while discussing the recent Chandrayaan 3 mission. He goes on to refer to MP Danish Ali as a “terrorist”, and “pimp”, and called for him to be removed from the proceedings, using further offensive slurs. The Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla had to intervene by requesting all MPs to take their seats.

This incident is a disturbing reminder of the growing discrimination, prejudice, and violence Muslims continue to face in India despite constitutional protections in place. The internet has been taken over by a storm after the video went viral. Kunwar Danish Ali has written a complaint against Bidhuri, and BJP has furthermore issued a show cause notice to its MP after the outrage refused to stop. However, as the pressure fomented on social media, we must ask what were viewers inside homes who access news through television sets watching? Did this harrowing incident make the cut? Let’s see how far and wide the coverage took place.

Our survey of the coverage of the event by some of India’s mainstream news channels on Friday proved to yield acutely disappointing results. Aaj Tak reported the incident and conducted a ten minute programme, citing how Bidhuri ruined the efforts for establishing the new parliament by PM Modi. The anchor, Shweta Singh, asked if action taken against the MP could be a “moment for learning” (sic) for everyone.

The segment further discussed how these words were against the tradition and integrity of the parliament, as it played MP Danish Ali’s statement after the incident went viral.

India Today too dealt with the matter in some depth holding a debate anchored by Rajdeep Sardesai with Advocate Sanjay Hegde and and former MP Satya Pal Jain, asking if suspension or anything beyond suspension can be done to implement a precedent to prevent such abuse. The segment also featured Sanjay Hegde stating that ‘enough is enough.’

Similarly, News18 too covered the incident. However, the channel attempted to seemingly engage in diluting the severity of the case by pinpointing the limelight on Danish Ali making out the victim to be worthy of the slur, or almost. . In a news article on their website to portray him in poor light by referring to how he apparently objected to ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogans by  BJP MP MLC Hari Singh earlier this year. In another short segment by CNN-News18 on what they call  the ‘controversy’, the reporter, Pallavi Ghosh seems to spend significant air time time highlighting the INDIA alliance is taking this moment in the parliament to sway voters against the BJP in the upcoming general assembly elections.

The INDIA alliance is a name released by opposition leaders for an upcoming alliance for the 2024 general assembly elections. The reporter also asserted that the BJP ‘clearly’ did not waste much time issuing the show-cause notice as it doesnt want the narrative of the BJP being anti-Muslim to takeover, nor does the BJP want the the ‘emotive words used by Danish Ali’ to ‘divert’ from the work it has done. The reporter ends by saying that the ‘Bidhuri vs Danish Ali’ issue has now given an opportunity to Opposition parties to capitalise on for the upcoming elections. News 18 Hindi too did a short section on the issue. And Zee News (Hindi) did an afternoon segment on the issue this Friday, broadcasting Danish Ali’s statement.

Let’s have a look at the minimalist news coverage of the shameful incident in parliament in some of the channels guilty of being repeat hate offenders:

Times Now Navbharat
(No Prime Time)
#BSP सांसद #DanishAli के खिलाफ #BJP सांसद #RameshBidhuri ने की अभद्र टिप्पणी
सब्सक्राइब करें #TimesNowNavbharat
https://youtube.com/c/timesnownavbharat
#TimesNowNavbharatOriginals #TNNOriginals

Republic TV
(No Prime Time)

Aaj Tak
(No Prime Time news segment)
(has done a 10-minute Programme)
संसद के असंसदीय शब्द
देखिए @SwetaSinghAT
के साथ #10Tak
#RameshBidhuri #DanishAli #BSP | #ATVideo
https://twitter.com/aajtak/status/1705280008330133547

India Today
(No Prime time)
Is this a fit case for the suspension of a session or something more can be done? ASG @SatyaPalJain
answer this and more Full show: https://shorturl.at/rtvyY #DanishAli #RameshBidhuri #NewsToday |
@sardesairajdeep
https://twitter.com/IndiaToday/status/1705258645632491799

News18 (English)
(No Prime Time)
Ramesh Bidhuri Today Speech | BJP MP’s Slurs In Sansad: Will ‘Hate Speech’ Be Punished? | News18  (Heading is BJP slur but video is on Women reservation)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYebv_tc3ME

They are trying to do character assassination of Danish Ali
BSP MP #DanishAli grabbed the headlines in August for strongly opposing chanting of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ by BJP MLC Hari Singh Dillon in his address at #Amroha railway station
By: @Oliver056
https://www.news18.com/politics/when-bsp-mp-danish-ali-opposed-chanting-of-bharat-mata-ki-jai-slogan-bjp-mp-ramesh-bidhuri-controversy-8588069.html

BJP Issues Show Cause Notice To Party MP Ramesh Bidhuri | English News | News18 | BJP News | N18V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFnaw6Qv_q4

News18 (Hindi)
(No Prime Time)
Only small coverage in afternoon
Danish Ali on Ramesh Bidhuri Remarks: BJP सांसद बिधूड़ी ने BSP सांसद दानिश को गालियां दीं | N18V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXlUv_2s_HA

Zee News (Hindi)
(No Prime Time)
‘मैं रातभर सो नहीं पाया’ बिधूड़ी पर दानिश अली का बयान | Ramesh Bidhuri | Lok Sabha | BSP Danish Ali
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWE10jMi6fI

What does this exclusion of any discussion on hate speech means?

The message one can take from these is that the abusive words hurled at the BSP MP in parliament are not that severe an issue for commercial news media channels, and that the attention and outrage it has garnered is something that is being dubbed “politically motivated in light of upcoming state and general assembly elections” (by the ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, the party from whom the hate offender hails).

This seems to be a gross misrepresentation of the situation.

A sitting MP from a minority community has been assaulted with the aggression of anti-Muslim slur, within the portals of the Indian Parliament, is surely a situation that would ideally demand urgent legal attention? An immediate suspension? A party decision not to allow him to contest elections in future?  In places like the USA, or even in India, identity-based slurs for black or Dalit communities are a cause for outrage and, in some cases, incidents that may be subjected to punitive measures by the legal system.

Furthermore, it is crucial to note that this news from the special session of the parliament did not make it to any of the Primetime segments of mainstream media surveyed by the team at Sabrang India. This disturbing outcome comes at a time when freedom of the press is increasing at risk in India, and there has been much discussion about how mainstream media has seen death at the hands of the corporate-BJP nexus.

In sharp contrast the channels responsible for this significant gloss over of such a shameful act in Parliament (News18, TimesNow Bharat, ZeeNews, Times Now, AajTak) have been over the past three years especially, guilty of the worst and most unprofessional newshour debates that further hate-mongering and stigmatising the minorities

Here are some examples

For instance, as recent as May 2023, Aaj Tak was released a one hour  programme which had the title ‘Gaming Jihad’ with Sudhir Choudhary as the anchor. The show was allegedly about a gaming racket busted in Ghaziabad which was engaging in religious conversion of young children. The show’s tagline ended with the sentence ‘Is mobile converting you child’s religion.’

The anchor proceeded to peddle a baseless story about the possibility of four lakh children being converted by these tactics. These claims continue to have no base to back them, however Aaj Tak provided a full one hour coverage to them, which makes it clear that the show was seemingly another attempts at propagating false narratives to spread hatred against Muslims by alleging a conspiracy by religious minorities in India.

In another incident where Citizens for Justice and Peace, filed a complaint was filed against a programme by Times Now Navbharat which used the term ‘Mazaar Jihad’ in a show titled ‘धामी सरकार का ‘ऑपरेशन मजार’, ‘गजवा-ए-हिंद’ की साजिश के किससे जुड़े तार?’ It was broadcast in May earlier this year. The programme once again alleged falsely that the Muslims in India are waging a conspiracy to conquer India. The programme repeatedly used terms like ‘mazaar jihad/ zameen jihad’. This is a repeat offense despite News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has, time and again, warned new channels to not use such terms.

In another instance, resultant of a complaint filed by CJP, the NBDSA issued a fine on on two separate incidents against News18 in February this year. The NBDSA also ordered the video in question to be removed from the channel. Thus, a concerted efforts at stigmatising minorities has been continuing at the behest of media.

This is corroborated by international media institutions. According to the latest report released in 2023 from the global media watchdog, RSF (Reporters without Borders) India’s standing in the global press freedom rankings has worsened. The report, released on World Press Freedom Day, places India at the 161st position out of 180 countries revealing a concerning decline. However, in comparison India had held the 150th rank in the previous year’s report in 2022.

According to the RSF, several factors have contributed to this decline, one of them being the high-profile raids on the BBC headquarters in India which had drawn widespread international criticism, and raised concerns about the overall environment for a free and fair media within which journalists are operating in India.

In contrast to India’s trip down the rankings, neighbouring South Asian countries have demonstrated improvements in their press freedom rankings. Pakistan had risen to the 150th spot from the 157th position in 2022, while Sri Lanka jumped up to the 135th rank.

The RSF report furthermore points out and stresses on how the corporate ownership of media outlets in India has changed the scenario completely. The report highlights that a majority of mainstream media in India are now owned by corporate companies with close ties to BJP and the PM Modi.  The report states that despite a large number of media outlets, there is a ‘concentration of ownership’, and furthermore stresses that this is an ongoing hit against the declining press freedom situation in India.

Just last year, after great resistance from its founders, the Roy couple, a media broadcasting channel, NDTV, that was touted to be more neutral in its reportage was lost in the fight against corporate media. In August 2022, a new venture by Adani AMG Media Networks announced the indirect acquisition of a 29% stake in the company with plans to acquire an additional 26% as well. Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy had reportedly tried to prevent Adani’s influence for a long time but to no avail and accused him of a takeover without their consent or consultation as they resigned by the board last year. News 18 too saw a similar fate when it was acquired by Mukesh Ambani in 2014.

These developments do not bode well for the country or its press freedom as more and more of the country’s popular television news channels are now placed under the control and mercy of billionaires who have very close ties to the current regime of the BJP.

 

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The blatant anti-Muslim bias displayed in the Indian parliament is a shame for the country https://sabrangindia.in/the-blatant-anti-muslim-bias-displayed-in-the-indian-parliament-is-a-shame-for-the-country/ Fri, 22 Sep 2023 12:22:00 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=29980 BJP MP targets a Muslim MP, uses anti-Muslim slurs, calls him “Muslim terrorist and militant” during the Special Session of the Lok Sabha, comments expunged after uproar

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An elected member of the Lok Sabha openly uses anti-Muslim slurs against a Muslim member of Parliament during an ongoing session of the Parliament. He calls the Muslim MP a “B****a (pimp)”, “K***a (circumcised)”, “Mullah Atankwadi (Muslim terrorist)” and a “Mullah Ugrawadi (Muslim militant)” while giving a speech on record. The words uttered by the MP from the ruling party are televised. 75 years after attaining Independence, this is the state of our beloved India that is Bharat.

On September 21, BJP Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Bidhuri, from South Delhi, used filthy and violent anti-Muslim slurs against MP Danish Ali of the Bahujan Samaj Party during the special session of the Parliament. In the video that has now surfaced, Bidhuri can be heard giving a communally charged rant while talking about the recent Chandrayan 3 mission, referring to the Ali as a terrorist, urging the speaking to “throw the Mullah (anti-Muslim slur) out”. The video also shows another senior BJP member and former government minister, namely Harsh Vardhan, sitting behind Bidhuri and laughing at the anti-Muslim diatribe. The Lok Sabha speaker, Om Birla, can be heard asking the MPs to sit down.

Indian Muslims are increasingly being subjected to systematic discrimination, prejudice, and violence despite there being constitutional protections in place, and yet, this open show of the prevailing anti-Muslim sentiment and islamophobia in a “temple of democracy” has brought shame to India.

It is important to highlight here that a report of the Indian Express has provided that Ali had approached speaker Om Birla to draw his attention to the anti-Muslim remarks made by Bidhuri and demanded some action over it. As per the IE report, Ali had written a letter to the speaker, which stated “I write to you with deep anguish regarding the speech given in the Lok Sabha by an MP of the BJP, Mr Ramesh Bidhuri, during the discussion on Chandrayaan success… During the course of his speech, he directed the most foul, abusive invectives against me, which are part of the records of the Lok Sabha. Among the words he directed against me were ‘B****a’ (pimp),’K***a’ (circumcised one), ‘Mullah ugravadi’ (Muslim terrorist) ‘atankvadi’ (terrorist) etc… This is most unfortunate and the fact that it has happened in a new Parliament building under your leadership as Speaker is truly heart-breaking for me as a minority member of this great nation and an elected Member of Parliament as well.”

Furthermore, Ali also requested the Speaker to take “cognisance of this foul conduct on the floor of the House and take appropriate action” against Bidhuri. In addition to this, Ali had also asked that the matter be referred to the Privileges Committee of the Lok Sabha for prompt action.

As per ANI, sources in the Lok Sabha secretariat have provided that Birla took a serious view of use of unparliamentary words by Bidhuri. “He has issued a warning that if there is any recurrence of such behaviour in future, strict action will be taken,” ANI reported. Notably, as reported by various media reports, the Speaker also expunged the remarks made by Bidhuri.

What had led to the BJP MP making such disparaging remarks against the Muslim MP

In the report of the IE, Ali, an MP from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, provided that the derogatory remarks were made by Bidhuri sometime after 10 pm in the Lok Sabha. He stated “The BJP MP was speaking in the House. During the speech, he said some people wanted Prime Minister Modi to die like a dog. I intervened and asked him what he was saying and that no one said that about the honourable Prime Minister. Then he called me names which included ‘terrorist’. I want to ask RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwatji, what is taught in their shakhas? Is this what they learn in Prime Minister Modiji’s pathshala?”

Reaction of the Bharatiya Janata Party to the remarks

It has been claimed by many that anti-Muslim sentiments have heightened under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP government, which has promoted a Hindu nationalist agenda since elected to power in 2014. This is not the first time that a representative or a member of the BJP has openly made an offensive comment against the Indian Muslims. Anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiments have been consistently aired by high-ranking members of the BJP and the government with impunity, and yet no concrete action has ever been taken against them. Be it Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal, who made an offensive statement against Prophet, or Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul, who said that Muslims should be set ablaze just as Hindus burn Ravana effigies during the festival of Dussehra.

No concrete action has yet been taken by the BJP party against Bidhuri. As per the IE report, BJP leaders provided that said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had apologised immediately after Bidhuri made the remarks in the Lok Sabha. “He apologised to the House as the Deputy Leader and ensured the smooth functioning of the proceedings,” a source in the BJP said, as per the IE report. A report by The Wire stated that Singh had “expressed regret” over the remarks. “I express regret if the opposition is hurt by the remarks made by the member,” Singh had said while clarifying that he had not heard the remarks himself. The question that arises here is that how far will this apology go? Should an elected member not be held accountable for attacking a fellow minister based on their religious community and bringing down the sanctity of the House of the People?

On many occasions in the past, the ruling party has requested the comments made by opposition leader to be expunged. During the budget session of 2023, in February, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had written to the Lok Sabha speaker to move a breach of motion against MP Rahul Gandhi alleging that the allegations raised by him against the PM are baseless, derogatory and were not supported by documents. Notably, Rahul Gandhi had delivered a combative speech linking Adani’s meteoric rise in his business to the Modi government coming to power at the Centre in 2014. He had posed four questions to PM Modi which included asking him how many times he travelled with Adani abroad, how many times did the business tycoon joined the PM on foreign trips, how many times Adani visited that country immediately after PM’s foreign trip and got a contract. His remarks were expunged from records.

Ironically, on the same day as these comments were made by Bidhuri, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had requested the Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to expunge the comments made by Derek O’Brien, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP from Rajya Sabha. During the Rajya Sabha discussion regarding the Women’s Reservation Bill, O’Brien had made a ‘money, media, muscle power, misogyny, remark against PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. O’Brien had also referred to an alleged remark by then-Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adiyanath, reported in media, opposing women’s reservation bill in 2010.

The question that begs to be asked here is why did no BJP member demand the expunction of the anti-Muslim remarks made by Bidhuri? While, reportedly, the Lok Sabha Speaker issued a warning to Bidhuri, why was he not suspended from the Lok Sabha, much like O’Brien was during the Monsoon session for displaying ‘unruly behaviour, unbecoming of a member of the Rajya Sabha’? Does calling a Muslim MP from the opposition party a terrorist not a comment grave enough to attract suspension?

Reaction of the Opposition:

One of the first leaders to condemn the said incident was TMC MP Mahua Moitra. She took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express her anguish and criticised BJP in a post, with a video clipping of Bidhuri’s speech attached. “Keeper of Maryada @ombirlakota Vishwaguru @narendramodi & BJP Prez @JPNadda… any action please?” she posted.

The tweet can be accessed here:

In another post, she said “Abusing Muslims, OBCs an integral part of BJP culture – most now see nothing wrong with it. @narendramodi has reduced Indian Muslims to living in such a state of fear in their own land that they grin & bear everything. Sorry but I’m calling this out. Ma Kali holds my spine”.

Referring to the apology given by Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called it an “eyewash”. As per the IE, Jairam Ramesh said “[It is a] complete shame what Bhiduri said. Rajnath Singh’s apology is not acceptable it was a half-hearted apology…it is an eyewash. Bhiduri has spoken in a language that is an insult not just to parliament but to every Indian,” Ramesh continued, wondering why the MP had not yet been suspended.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said that Bidhuri should be arrested, as parliamentary privilege cannot extend to hate speech while the Aam Aadmi Party referred to yesterday’s session as ‘the blackest day in the history of Parliament.’

Is no Indian Muslim safe from Hate Speech in India?

The hateful politics that had spilled onto the streets of India, has now perpetrated the walls of the Parliament, serving as a stark reminder of the pitiful conditions faced by minorities in India. This display of discrimination and anti-Muslim bias, from an elected MP inside the Parliament is only proof.

Hate against Muslims has been mainstreamed like never before. And now, the inaction against this speech given by MP Ramesh Bidhuri during a session of the Parliament will be deemed as injustice to every member of the Muslim Community.

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