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J&K BJP serves show cause notice to party leader over ‘hateful’ comments against Muslims
BJP’s Jammu and Kashmir president Ravinder Raina said that party leader Vikram Randhawa must provide an apology for his remarks against Kashmiri Muslims or face strict action.
A leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Jammu and Kashmir unit was on Monday slapped with a show cause notice by the party after a video of him purportedly making disrespectful remarks against the Valley’s Muslims went viral on social media.
A PTI report said Vikram Randhawa, a former member of legislative council, made the comments over incidents of celebrating the Pakistan team’s win against India in a T20 World Cup match.
In the video, he was heard saying people who had affection in their blood for Pakistan, must be snatched off their educational degrees and citizenship. Randhawa said such people should also be beaten.
The video was first shared on Twitter by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Naeem Akhtar, to which party president Mehbooba Mufti responded stating “no action” had been taken against the BJP leader.
“No action taken against an ex-BJP MLA who calls for genocide of Kashmir and to skin them alive. But J&K students are charged with sedition for merely cheering the winning team. India is surely the mother of all democracies,” Mufti tweeted.
J&K’s BJP president Ravinder Raina said a show cause notice was served to Randhawa as soon as the party noticed the video as “such a language cannot be tolerated.”
“A video has gone viral in social media in which you are seen making absolutely reckless and hatred promoting remarks against a particular community. This is unacceptable to the party and has brought disrepute and embarrassment to the party,” PTI reported, quoting the notice.
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The BJP disciplinary committee has asked Randhawa to render an explanation over his remarks within the next 48 hours.
Raina also warned Randhawa of strict action if an apology did not come soon. The BJP chief further clarified that Randhawa’s statements had “nothing to do” with the saffron party’s stand.
Meanwhile, Randhawa’s statements have triggered protests in the Valley, with senior lawyer Sheikh Shakeel urging the inspector general of police to book the BJP leader.
Shakeel said Randhawa had in the past openly threatened a government official and also used derogatory remarks against Union minister Jitendra Singh. “We appeal to the IGP to…book him immediately for hurting the sentiments of the Muslims,” the lawyer was quoted as saying by PTI.
As many as three Kashmiri engineering students were sent to 14-day judicial custody on Friday for their alleged “anti-national” slogans and praise of Pakistan during the country’s match against India in the T20 World Cup event last week.
A complaint against the students of RBS Engineering College in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra district was initially filed by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader Gaurav Rajawat.
Later, a statement released from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s official Twitter handle said individuals celebrating Pakistan’s win will “face sedition”.
