The BJP on Sunday expelled two party spokespersons, including national spokesperson Nupur Sharma, for making derogatory statements concerning Prophet Muhammad and the Muslim community in a television debate on Times Now towards the end of May, in what could be the first such action against leading figures taken by the administration since 2014. In light of this, let’s take a look at 5 other BJP members who have stirred controversy and brought humiliation to the party, albeit without receiving any backlash from the party.
Tejasvi Surya
Organizers of the contentious BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s presentation in Australia were forced to cancel it after protests from scholars, minority organisations, and human rights campaigners over Surya’s use of “hate politics” in India. Surya was scheduled to speak at a series of events hosted by the Australia India Youth Dialogue from May 31 to June 4, according to the news portal NRIAffairs. However, organisations in Australia have launched a campaign against the BJP MP, condemning AIYD of inviting him.
“Surya has expressed clearly incendiary anti-Muslim views and has stirred hatred and violent sentiments against our Indian Muslims brothers, sisters and childer,” the AFIC said.
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV), and The Australian Alliance against Hate (AAH) urged event partners to cancel their endorsement. Protesters have written letters to Australian colleges and firms that are sponsoring the event, requesting that Surya’s participation be terminated. “As evident in his profile on the AIYD Website, Surya identifies himself as an RSS Swayamsevak…Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a militant Hindu organisation that borrows from the tactics of European fascism to transform different people’ into ‘enemies’. Groups that have experienced RSS-related discrimination and violence for decades include Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Adivasis (Indigenous), and Dalits (historically positioned at the bottom of the hierarchical caste system),” the letter said.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s Close Aide Swami Prabodhanand Giri
“This is our state now,” Swami Prabodhanand Giri, president of the Hindu Raksha Sena, a right-wing organisation based in Uttarakhand, proclaimed at a rally. “You have seen this at the Delhi border, they killed Hindus and hung them. There is no more time, the case now is that either you prepare to die now, or get ready to kill, there’s no other way. This is why, like in Myanmar, the police here, the politicians here, the army and every Hindu must pick up weapons and we will have to conduct this cleanliness drive (safai abhiyan). There is no solution apart from this.”
Because of Prabodhanand’s ties to the BJP, his advocating for ethnic cleansing and genocide are especially concerning. Prabodhanand has shared photos of himself with Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, on two occasions. He was also photographed with the higher education minister of Uttarakhand and BJP member Shri Dhan Singh Rawat.
Islamophobic Comments Over Hijab Row
Basangouda Patil Yatnal, a BJP MLA, fueled the flames of the hijab row by calling for the banning and closure of Urdu schools and madrassas in the state. Yatnal told reporters that the Muslim community should either learn Kannada or migrate to Pakistan if they don’t.
“They consume the food that was grown in this land. They drink the water that comes from this land and engage in anti-national activities. If you ask me, I suggest that Madrassas should be banned across Karnataka. Urdu schools should also be shut down. If you want, you learn Kannada or go to Pakistan. What business do you have here? You want Urdu, hijab and other Islamic necessities then go to Pakistan that honourable Mahatma Gandhi has given for you.” He was just one among the several MLAs who made such statements.
Comparing Female Political Leaders To Prostitutes
BJP vice-president Dayashankar Singh compared Mayawati, the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party, to a prostitute. “Even a prostitute fulfils her commitment to a man after she is paid. But Mayawati, such a big leader in UP, sells party tickets to anyone who pays her the highest amount. If someone gives her Rs 1 crore for a ticket, she will give it to the other person who is offering Rs 2 crore,” Singh told reporters, calling her a “vaishya”.
Misogynistic Comments
Mulayam Singh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party, seems to be very much against capital punishment for rape, saying, “Ladke ladke hain, galti ho jati hai (boys will be boys, mistakes will be made).” He remarked, addressing a rally in Moradabad in Hindi Is it true that rape cases are phasi di jayegi? (At first, girls form friendships with boys.) When they encounter disagreements, the girls accuse the boys of rape. Boys are prone to making blunders. Will they be sentenced to death for rape?.”
At a gathering in Barabanki, he also said that “The Women’s Reservation Bill will only benefit rich and urban women. Our poor and rural women are not attractive… I will not say beyond this).” Mulayam also said that if passed, the Women Reservation Bill “would provoke young men to whistle in Parliament”.
Insensitive Comments After The Hathras Gangrape Tragedy
Surendra Singh, a BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh, declared in 2020 that “rape atrocities can only be prevented by sanskar (culture), not governance.” The BJP leader was responding to a question about the increase in crimes against women in the midst of the gangrape and murder of a Dalit girl in Hathras. “In addition to being an MLA, I am a teacher.” Such occurrences (such as rape) can only be prevented without sanskar (culture), not shasan (good governance) or talwar (sword or force)” he claimed.
Unfortunately, these are just a few of the several such comments made by politicians that have gone without even being acknowledged by the party, let alone be reprimanded and punished. Such ignorance cultivates an environment where such statements can be made without any consequence, bringing shame not only to the party, but also to the nation as a whole.
