A video purportedly showing Union minister Giriraj Singh describing Muslims as “namak haram”, or ungrateful, triggered a furore on Sunday, with the Opposition calling for his head and some NDA leaders condoning his remark.
Addressing a BJP poll rally in Arwal district of Bihar on Saturday, the textile minister seemed to imply that citizens who accept government welfare have a moral obligation to vote for the ruling party.
Singh, MP from Begusarai in Bihar, said his party did not want the votes of the “namak haram”, appearing to use the term for Muslims who benefit from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s welfare schemes but do not vote for the BJP.
On Sunday, the 73-year-old minister, a habitual purveyor of incendiary comments against Muslims, stood by his remarks.
In the video, Singh appears to narrate an alleged conversation he had had with a Muslim cleric.
“Once I asked a maulvi (cleric) whether he had an Ayushman Bharat health card. He said, ’Yes’. I asked if these cards had been distributed on the basis of religion. He said, ‘No’,” the minister is heard saying.
“I then asked if he had voted for me. He said, ‘Yes’. I asked him to swear by God, and he said, ‘No’. I asked if Narendra Modi or I had ever insulted him; he said, ‘No’. So I told him that one who doesn’t acknowledge help is called a namak haram.”
Singh added: “I told him, ‘Maulvi Saheb, I don’t want the votes of the namak haram’.”
In between, he prodded the crowd to chorus “namak haram”, emulating a 2020 campaign speech in Delhi by then Union minister Anurag Thakur, who had asked the audience to follow him in chanting a slogan that advocated shooting “traitors to the country”.
Facing widespread criticism, Singh on Sunday told reporters he had meant only to highlight the non-discriminatory nature of government welfare schemes.
“Islam says consuming free food is haram. Are they not taking the 5kg free rations? Did both Hindus and Muslims not get houses under the PM Awas Yojana? Toilets? Was there any discrimination?” he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut demanded Singh’s removal from the government and asked whether Hindus who did not vote for the BJP would also be labelled “namak haram”.
“If someone doesn’t vote for you, does that make them namak haram? Who gave you the right to insult an entire community?” Raut said.
Bihar Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput called Singh “mentally unstable” and said: “The BJP has nothing left to talk about except Hindu-Muslim.”
The JDU, the BJP’s biggest ally in Bihar, adopted a more cautious stance.
Party spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan said: “The voters are intelligent. They make decisions beyond such comments. The Muslim community in Bihar trusts Nitish Kumar.”
Another JDU leader, Neeraj Kumar, defended Singh, saying: “He only pointed out that the Centre’s welfare schemes don’t discriminate. He used the expression in that context. Everyone has the right to choose their words.”
Singh had during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign said that those opposed to Modi should be sent to Pakistan.
He has in the past called the Islamic seminary in Deoband a “fountainhead of terrorism”, and claimed that Indians have paid a heavy price for their forefathers’ failure to send all Muslims to Pakistan.
Singh has repeatedly alleged that Muslim “population growth” is a threat to India’s security.
Opp seat ache
The seat-sharing impasse within the Opposition remained unresolved on Sunday, with at least seven seats featuring candidates from more than one Mahagathbandhan partner.
Efforts are underway to break the deadlock before Monday, the last day for withdrawing nominations for the first phase of voting scheduled on November 6.
“We are hopeful that the dispute over the seven seats will be resolved soon. Some Mahagathbandhan candidates may withdraw by Monday, and there could be a joint media address on October 23,” an RJD leader said.