Verma, when contacted, told The Indian Express that he had not been asked for an explanation over the incident. (File Photo)Taking exception to its West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma’s “boycott” comment, the BJP leadership has sought an explanation from him, sources in the BJP said.
Addressing a ‘Virat Hindu Sabha’ organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s local unit and other Hindu organisations in the capital last week, Verma had called for a “total boycott” of “these people”. Party sources said the BJP’s national leadership did not appreciate his remarks. Although Verma did not name any community, the “message that went off was wrong”, sources said. “Party president (JP) Nadda ji has asked for an explanation,” said a party leader.
Verma, when contacted, told The Indian Express that he had not been asked for an explanation over the incident. “No one asked me anything,” he said.
BJP sources, however, said the leadership had sent strict instructions to all its leaders as well as talking heads to refrain from making any “Hindu-Muslim” comments. “There is a strict directive from the party that no spokesperson or leader should make any comment that could be interpreted as divisive. No Hindu-Muslim remark, that is the message. In fact, the party does not even send its spokespersons for aggressive Hindu-Muslim debates,” said a party leader.
Post the Nupur Sharma controversy, the BJP had asked its leaders not to make public remarks against any religion as it can “damage the narrative on development that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to create”. The party had suspended Sharma, its national spokesperson, and Delhi leader Naveen Jindal for their remarks against the Prophet.
A party leader from Delhi said it was felt that the timing of Verma’s comments was wrong as it came at a time when RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is interacting with Muslim leaders and the PM has directed party members to focus on weaker sections of Muslims, like Pasmandas. “You need to understand the nature of Delhi… there was so much of Hindu-Muslim done in 2020 before assembly polls, what happened, we lost all the seats in West Delhi too,” the leader said.
Earlier, BJP’s youth wing chief and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya was asked to withdraw his remarks calling for Hindus to “dream big” and “re-convert” to Hinduism all those who had converted to Islam and Christianity, including Pakistanis.
In an interview with The Indian Express earlier this year, Nadda had said that his job was to stop those who make controversial statements at the initial stage itself. “I do this in the mornings, today too. We make them understand. Ninety percent say it was emotional… But I tell them not to (say such things). So the intention of the party is very clear. There are still some, but we strictly monitor them. We are a cadre-based party, but it’s also a mass party and there are people from different backgrounds, and they speak when they get applauded. Containing them is my responsibility,” he has said.