India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 27—A local court here has rejected a plea seeking action against BJP parliamentarians Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma for allegedly making communal and false provocative statements and giving hate speeches earlier this year.
The two BJP leaders were the star campaigners of the party during the Delhi assembly elections, 2020. In January, Anurag Thakur during one of the poll rallies had urged a crowd to “goli maaro (gun down traitors)” and Parvesh Sahib Singh had told the crowd during campaigning that Shaheen Bagh protesters “will enter your houses, rape your sisters and daughters”.
The two were found in open inciting the audience to attack those protesting against CAA-NRC by referring to protesters as traitors.
CPM leader Brinda Karat had filed an application in the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, seeking registration of FIR against BJP MPs Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma for allegedly making hate speeches.
On August 27, while dismissing Ms Karat’s plea, the court noted that it could not act against the accused until there is a prior sanction accorded by the Central government which is competent authority in this case. “Admittedly, there is no previous sanction obtained by the complainants from the competent authority to prosecute the respondents for offences alleged in the complaint. Hence, in view of the settled position of law… the complaint deserves to be dismissed for being not tenable in the eyes of law. Accordingly, the same stands dismissed,” the Court said in its verdict after receiving response from Karat’s legal counsel in negative about whether sanction from the Central government has been received for action against the two parliamentarians.
Prior to this, CPM leader had moved the court after she reportedly failed to get an outcome from her written complaints to the Commissioner of Police and the SHO, Parliament Street. She had made the complaints against Verma and Thakur after the Election Commission of India decided to remove them from the list of star campaigners during Delhi Assembly polls. Prior to that, both Thakur and Mr Singh were served notices and the commission also cautioned other leaders and parties from making incendiary comments and said: “No appeal shall be made on basis of caste/communal feelings of the electors”. The poll body also said: “No activity, which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes/communities/ religious/linguistic groups, shall be attempted”.
In a video shot on January 27, this year, BJP’s Anurag Thakur, who was campaigning for Manish Chaudhary, chanted “desh ke gaddaron ko”, to which the crowd enthusiastically replied “goli maaro sa***n ko”; the entire chant translates to “shoot down the traitors who betray the country”.
The next day, Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, the BJP’s West Delhi MP, said in his speech: “Lakhs of people gather there (Shaheen Bagh). They will enter your houses, rape your sisters and daughters, kill them. There’s time today… Modi-ji and Amit Shah won’t come to save you tomorrow”.
