Rajnath Singh to look into alleged hate speech made by three BJP leaders

NEW DELHI: Home Minister Rajnath Singh has written to the chairperson of the National Commission of Minorities (NCM) Naseem Ahmed, assuring him that he has tasked his ministry to look into certain alleged inflammatory remarks made by three of BJP’s elected representatives.

A senior Home Ministry official confirmed to ET that Singh has sent a brief reply to Ahmed’s earlier letter to him, saying, "I am getting this matter looked into."

Ahmed had written to Singh on September 18, objecting to the offensive remarks made by BJP MPs from Uttar Pradesh, Sakshi Maharaj and Yogi Adityanath, as well as the party’s MLA from Madhya Pradesh, Usha Thakur.

The Home Ministry official quoted earlier said the letter written by the NCM chairperson is in the process of being forwarded to the state government for action as they may deem fit. "The Home Ministry’s role is limited in this matter as law and order is a state subject. The NCM chairperson should have hence written to the respective Chief Ministers or police chiefs of these states rather than the Union Home Minister," the official told ET.

In his letter to the Home Minister, Ahmed asked for an investigation into the "caustic comments" made by Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj, allegedly associating terrorism with madrassas and Muslims.

"Unfounded and extremely offensive comments have been made about Muslims by Yogi Adityanath, regarding ‘love jihad’. Derogatory comments have also been made on Muslims by MLA Usha Thakur in MP with regard to garba celebrations," the NCM chairperson’s letter added. Ahmed also mentioned that the commission was concerned over a spate of such hate speeches by elected public representatives.