Jahangirpuri showed 'Sanaatan' social fabric under stress; NRC required: Giriraj

Union minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday said the recent communal violence in Delhi's Jahangirpuri has brought to light the conspiracy to undermine the country’s “Sanaatan” social fabric and underscored the need for National Register for Citizens (NRC) in the country.

Without naming any individual or political party, the firebrand BJP leader also lashed out at detractors calling them “Vote ke saudagar” who had defamed the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, lent their voice to “tukde tukde gang” and opposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Singh, who represents Begusarai Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, made the remarks in a brief video message he shared on his official Twitter handle. “The vote ke saudagar have tried to vitiate the atmosphere over Jahangipuri incident. Are they not the ones who had raised a banner of revolt against CAA and, before that, the Ram Janmabhoomi movement? These are elements who want to impose Sharia law in the country and agitate in support of Hijab,” Singh said.

“Such elements were behind pelting Ram Navami processions with stones, opening fire at senior police officials. They stand in support of the tukde tukde gang,” said the Union minister, seeking to extrapolate recent communal incidents in Delhi and Karnataka with protests in the JNU campus six years ago.

Striking an alarmist note, he added: “The country has reached a point where a Murtaza can attack the Gorakhdham shrine, headed by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and a Sharjeel Imam can openly call for disintegration of India”.

He was referring to Ahmed Murtaza, a 29-year-old man who was accused of trying to forcibly enter Gorakhnath temple in UP earlier this month, and Sharjeel Imam, the JNU student who was charged with making inflammatory speeches during protests against the CAA and NRC in 2019.

“Hence, it is now needed that NRC is implemented across the country. Let there be a debate on the issue. All countries in the world have some document that citizens need to carry as proof of identity,” said the BJP leader raking up an issue which the Narendra Modi government appears to have shelved.

After Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s “chronology” remark of 2019, there were widespread protests. In the Bihar assembly, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar got a resolution unanimously passed, with BJP members in tow, asserting that an NRC was “not required” in the state.

Later, at public rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicated that bringing NRC was not on the anvil.

Singh concluded his acerbic statement by claiming that the “vote ke saudagar'' are hell-bent on spoiling the country’s Sanaatan social harmony and they visit mosques and temples only during elections since nothing matters to them except votes.