On May 12, 2022, CJP brought to the attention of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) statements of Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul, where he openly compared Muslims to demons and called for them to be set ablaze… something that is in effect an open call for genocide of members of the Muslim minority.
The complaint points out the video uploaded by News 24 where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Bihar openly calls for violence against Muslim minorities while speaking to news reporters, comparing Muslims to demons like Ravan (the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic Ramayan). “We need Hanuman ji so that our youth can be strong, and the people of our country can be strong. Just like Ravana’s Lanka was burnt by Hanuman ji, the demon-like Ravanas, who are hovering over Bihar and the country, should also be burnt,” said Bauchal.
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When asked where are these Ravanas in Bihar, he says, “You go and see what’s happening in Kishanganj, Purnia or Jokihat for that matter.” As per the National Herald, the said districts belong to the Seemanchal region in Bihar where 47 percent of the population hails from the Muslim community. The region accounts for 24 State Assembly seats. Moreover, he compares the situation in these areas with those incidents recorded in the movie The Kashmir Files.
The video maybe viewed here:
The complaint also highlights the derogatory remarks made by Bachaul in February this year stating that Muslims living in India should be stripped of voting rights and treated as second class citizens. He said, “In 1947, the country [India] was divided in the name of religion and they got another country [Pakistan]. They should go to another country. If they are living here, then I demand from the government that their voting rights be withdrawn. They [Muslims] can live in India as second-class citizens.”
In the complaint, CJP also brings to light another incident from last year where he makes remarks on Muslims fertility rate. The legislator was caught saying, “Muslims want to convert India into an Islamic state. Law should be brought to control the population in the country. The resources in the country are very limited but some people want to increase the population and capture and turn India into an Islamic country. Muslim community is indulging into this. It is important to control the population in order to make India into a developed country from a developing country.”
In light of the above, CJP, in the complaint, lays out the charges that should be invoked against Bachaul under the Indian Penal Code:
- Sec 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration)
- Sec 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs)
- Sec 503 (Criminal intimidation) Sec 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace)
- Sec 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief).
CJP believes that if open intimidation and speeches instigating violence are allowed to continue unabated, then such miscreants will be encouraged to create tension and cause mischief that disturb public order. Especially so, in view of the sensitive and hypercharged atmosphere today wherein aggression is being unleashed, unchecked, with impunity, on vulnerable and marginalised sections of our population.
Keeping in mind the magnitude of the situation, CJP has also stressed upon the importance to act strictly and earnestly in this matter, as it poses a serious threat to the secular fabric of our country.
CJP has urged the Commission to take immediate action in order to provide a sense of security to the minority community and strengthen the values of fraternity, secularism that our Constitution upholds.
The Complaint may be read here:
Image Courtesy: Youtube
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