BJP ‘unhappy’ over its West Delhi MP’s ‘boycott community’ remarks

 BJP ‘unhappy’ over its West Delhi MP’s ‘boycott community’ remarks

West Delhi MP Parvesh Sahib Singh. File Photo-

Jatin Anand Nistula Hebbar New Delhi

Ahead of BJP national president J.P. Nadda’s organisational meeting with the Delhi unit of the party on October 16, there is unhappiness in some quarters over West Delhi MP Parvesh Sahib Singh’s controversial remarks calling for the economic boycott of a particular community during a public meeting.

Mr. Nadda has reportedly also asked for unedited footage of the speech Mr. Singh made while addressing a meeting organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s local unit along with other organisations in east Delhi on October 9. While there has been no talk yet of any action being taken against Mr. Singh by the high command, it is clear that the BJP and the RSS, which have been talking of engaging with Muslims and the backward among the community in particular, find the remarks jarring to these efforts.

In fact, ever since then party spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s remarks on Prophet Muhammad and the diplomatic furore it caused with West Asian countries, the BJP has tread with caution on inter-community issues, at least in public rhetoric. Ms. Sharma was suspended from the party following her remarks.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had at the Hyderabad national executive meet of the BJP told leaders that it was important to engage with the backward communities, including the Pasmanda Muslims. In fact, the BJP had also spoken of “sneh yatras” being undertaken by the party’s minority cell to bridge divisions.

According to sources in the Delhi BJP, the party was “clearly unhappy” with Mr. Singh since his speech last Sunday and discussions over the “need” for the West Delhi MP to have “attempted polarisation” of the electorate ahead of the civic body elections in the Capital.

“There have been discussions since the event over the need for it [the speech] so close to the MCD elections, which are very small in comparison to the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat,” a party source said.

“There was no need for an attempt at polarisation from any point of view; the BJP is on a strong footing in both the States. In Delhi, the new Lieutenant-Governor’s proactive approach in handling civic issues is enough from a political point of view,” the source added.

“The MCD elections need to be contested on the basis of work and not anything else, which is why the three MCDs were reunified and an effective L-G was put in place by the Centre in the first place,” the source said.