Hate Speech in New Parliament
BJP M.P. Ramesh Bidhuri, whose unparliamentary, vulgar and communal speech against a Muslim M.P. Kunwar Danish Ali during a debate on the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission in the Lok Sabha has sent shockwaves across the country. Worse, two other BJP ministers present on the floor of the Lok Sabha were smiling. Its video has gone viral on the social media. The parliament has kept silence. However, later, Mr. Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister expressed regret in the House and apologised.
Bidhuri has attacked not only Ali but the whole Muslim community; his unparliamentary language has brought shame to our ‘temple of democracy’ and to the nation at large. Our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has till now kept silence. The Lok Sabha speaker Mr. Om Birla has said that ‘severe
Action’ will be taken against Bidhuri, but Bidhuri’s Islamophobic comment has been expunged from the records. Let us wait and watch what turn this communal drama takes in the next few days.
Chowdhry Nisar Ahmed
Noorullah pet, Ambur (Tamil Nadu)
Remove the ‘Consensual’ Provision
A bench of Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey of the Chhattisgarh High Court on September 22 cancelled rape charges against a BJP MLA’s son accused of sexually exploiting a tribal woman on the pretext of marriage with the observation that it appears to be a case of “consensual relationship”. The High Court also quashed Indian Penal Code section 313 (causing miscarriage without woman’s consent) and provisions of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) in the case. It, however, maintained the criminal proceedings under section 323 of the IPC in the case and directed the trial court to take necessary steps.
The accused Palash Chandel is the son of Chhattisgarh Assembly Leader of Opposition and Janjgir Champa MLA Narayan Chandel.
The fact is that rape is rape, no ifs and buts. But thanks to our lawmakers, there is provision of ‘consensual relationship’ and there is also a possibility of misuse of this provision and thus the accused may go scot-free. The need of the hour is to amend the law to remove this legal lacunae.
Shilpa Bhatnagar
Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
Hate Speeches on the Rise
As the time for general elections 2024 is coming nigh, the incidents of making hate statements are on the rise. Even the sanctity of our Parliament has not been spared. BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri abused another august member of the House, Kunwar Danish Ali, using unparliamentary and Islamophobic language.
Another news on September 21 reported that the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma made a hateful statement about Sonia Gandhi. Senior Assam Congress leader Debabrata Saikia has filed a police complaint against Mr. Sarma for his alleged ‘hateful statement’ about Mrs. Gandhi. Mr Sarma, during a rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district on September 18, had allegedly said that Mrs Gandhi’s residence should be burnt. An FIR has been filed against Mr. Sarma.
“Taunting Kamal Nath, a prominent member of the Indian National Congress, about his Hindu identity, Himanta Sarma directly suggested that 10, Janpath should be burnt,” Mr Saikia, the Leader of Opposition in the Assam Assembly, said in his complaint.
The common man is not fool enough to buy such hate-filled remarks, which are likely to prove counterproductive.
Kuldip Singh
Kokrajhar, Assam