In fresh controversy, two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs have written separate letters to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking action against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Kunwar Danish Ali. The letters by MPs Ravi Kishan Shukla and Harnath Singh Yadav come in the wake of Islamophobic comments hurled at Danish Ali in Parliament by another BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri earlier this month on September 21.
Actor-turned-politician Ravi Kishan is the MP for Gorakhpur while Harnath Singh Yadav is a Rajya Sabha member. Ramesh Bidhuri is the MP from South Delhi constituency while Danish Ali represents Amroha in Uttar Pradesh.
Ravi Kishan has sought action against Danish Ali for allegedly objecting to chanting 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' at a government function in Amroha on August 6. The occasion was the launch of the Amrit Bharat station scheme. In August BJP MLC Umesh Dwivedi had also sought action against the BSP MP on the same grounds. At the time, Umesh Devi had moved a censure motion in the Upper House of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
"It is beyond any dispute that the words used by Ramesh Bidhuri against Danish Ali are unacceptable,” he added in the letter, further saying, “However, the way things are being manipulated by Danish Ali and used for political agenda and to grab media attention is objectionable. Therefore, I request you to look into the matter and examine the unparliamentary acts and words by Danish Ali,” he wrote.
Yadav, meanwhile, said he was seeking action against Danish Ali, claiming that the BSP MP had “instigated” Ramesh Bidhuri and alleged that he’d made “derogatory references” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “No one can justify the remarks made against Danish Ali, but at the same time one must also remember that the remarks by BJP MP came as he was instigated by the disrespectful utterances of the BSP MP towards the PM and this is something that should be kept in mind,” Yadav also claimed in his letter to the Speaker. The BJP MP also said that opposition leaders making objectionable references against the PM had become a norm and sought an end to the practice.
On September 21, Ramesh Bidhuri hurled Islamophobic slurs at Bahujan Samaj Party Danish Ali in the Lok Sabha. The abuse, which was recorded on Sansad TV cameras, was reportedly during a discussion on the success of Chandrayaan-3.
In a minute-long video posted on social media by several Opposition leaders, Ramesh could be seen calling Danish Ali a “terrorist” and also hurling other abuses such as “katwa” (circumcised) and “Ugrawadi” (militant). Many also pointed out how BJP leader and former Union minister Harsh Vardhan and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, who were seated near Ramesh Bidhuri, were seen laughing at the demeaning communal remark.