Giriraj targets Minorities again

New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh has once again targeted Muslims. Courting controversy, Giriraj Singh wondered why all terrorists belong only to one community. These remarks can embarrass the BJP at a time when it may need to reach out to new allies, after the General Election result on Friday.

Giriraj Singh said, “Is it not true that all people caught in terrorist activities belong to one community? I am not trying to blame any one particular community. Why are all so-called secular parties silent on this?” This was not all. Giriraj Singh raked up the issue of Article 370 of the Constitution that confers Special Status on Jammu & Kashmir. Claiming that Article 370 has not contributed to communal harmony and has not served national interest and it should be scrapped.

The BJP candidate from Nawada in Bihar faces an FIR for his remarks last month that those, who oppose Narendra Modi, should go to Pakistan. Three FIRs were filed against him in Bihar, where he was Minister in Nitish Kumar Government till he snapped ties with the BJP last year. Giriraj Singh is out on bail after he was granted one in Patna, following his surrender in the court. BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had claimed in an interview to private TV channel that he had used his personal power and influence to force Giriraj Singh not to make such statements in future.

In fact, all that Modi did after the first outburst of Giriraj Singh was to tweet, distancing himself from the remarks. Nearly a month later, Giriraj Singh again made similar remarks, saying, “Pakistan is the hurdle in Narendra Modi’s path of becoming PM and there are some people in India, who are pro-Modi. Some are pro-terrorism and their political Mecca-Madina is Pakistan. These people should be in Pakistan, not India.” So far, none in the BJP even bothered to react to such remarks.