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Former BJP MLA under fire for remark offering jobs to Hindus who ‘bring Muslim girls, convert them’
This, he said, was to avenge two Hindu girls reportedly marrying Muslim men.
Former BJP MLA Raghavendra Pratap Singh has courted controversy with his remarks where he offered to cover marriage expenses and provide jobs to Hindu youths who "bring ten Muslim girls and make them Hindu".
This, he said, was to avenge two Hindu girls reportedly marrying Muslim men.
His remarks have sparked outrage earlier as well.
Singh, a former MLA from Domariyaganj assembly constituency in Siddharth Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh said this during a gathering in Dhankharpur village on October 16, according to a PTI news agency report.
A video of this speech has gone viral.
Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress have demanded action against the former MLA. They have said the comments were "inflammatory" and "shameful".
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What did the former BJP MLA say?
Singh said, "If a Hindu girl goes with a Muslim boy, is it not an insult to the whole Hindu community?
“If two have gone, then ... bringing two is not enough. Bring at least ten Muslim girls and make them Hindu, and we will bear all expenses of marriage, give security and provide a job for a comfortable livelihood,” Singh could be heard saying in clips of his speech on social media.
He also said that during previous governments, Hindus lived in fear but now under the Yogi government there is no need to live in fear.
BSP chief Mayawati demands strict action
BSP chief Mayawati has also demanded strict action against elements spreading communal and casteist hatred.
"The latest narrow-minded and hateful statement of 'bring a Muslim girl, get a job', and elements spreading communal and casteist hatred, unrest, anarchy in UP, Uttarakhand, and other states in the name of religious conversion, love jihad... and taking the law into their own hands is highly condemnable," the former chief minister said on X.
"Such criminal, anarchic and anti-social elements pose an open challenge to the government. Instead of providing them support and protection, governments should take strict legal action against such people to ensure the establishment of the rule of law in the broader interest of the public and the nation", she said.
Congress, BJP slam remark too
The Congress slammed the remarks as "shameful", accusing the BJP of spreading hatred and dividing society on religious lines.
Samajwadi Party MLA from Domariyaganj, Saiyada Khatoon said the comments were "beyond tolerance, utterly misogynistic and blatant objectification of women".
Demanding action against Singh, she said, "This statement is an insult to women and openly demeans them. It targets a particular religion and may be part of his political agenda, but such comments against women are truly disgraceful."
Asked about the furore over his remarks, Singh remained defiant before media persons and reiterated his stance.
