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Anurag Thakur was heard chanting the slogan while campaigning for BJP candidate in North West Delhi.
New Delhi:
After Union Minister Anurag Thakur was caught on camera at an election rally in Delhi on Monday urging a crowd to say “goli maaro” – or shoot down traitors – the election office has asked for a report.
The minister, who was campaigning for the BJP candidate in Rithala in North West Delhi, can be seen in a widely-shared video chanting “desh ke gaddaron ko…”, to which the crowd responds “…goli maaro sa***n ko“; the entire chant translates to “shoot down the traitors who betray the country”.
The video shows Mr Thakur, the Union Minister of State for Finance, egging on the crowd and clapping his hands as they shout the controversial slogan repeatedly.
Several BJP leaders were present at the time. Later, Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the same rally.
A defiant Mr Thakur told reporters: “First watch the entire video… The mood of the people of Delhi should also be analysed.”
Election Commission officials have told NDTV a video of the speech is being examined. “Necessary action” will be taken, said the constituency’s Returning Officer. The BJP candidate from Rithala, Manish Chaudhary, was also on stage when the slogan was being chanted.
The slogan has been largely used against those protesting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and has been heard at rallies held in support of the law too.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra, a candidate for the February 8 Delhi election, was also heard chanting the same slogan during a march in support of the controversial law.
Mr Mishra was banned from campaigning for 48 hours over the weekend for tweets Delhi Police said were “creating enmity among classes”. He had compared the election to an “India vs Pakistan” clash and described protests like the one at Shaheen Bagh against the citizenship law as “mini-Pakistans” emerging across the capital.
The “Goli Maaro…” slogan was also heard during the attack on students and staff at Delhi’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) last month, in which 34 were injured.
The Delhi election results will be declared on February 11, three days after people vote for the 70-member assembly.
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