New Delhi: Amid instances of several right-wing leaders speaking hate against the Muslim community at an event organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Delhi, a BJP MLA from Loni in UP's Ghaziabad bragged about his involvement in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots.
In a video from the 'Virat Hindu Sabha', which is being circulated widely on social media, BJP MLA Nand Kishor Gurjar can be heard speaking about bringing people to Delhi during the Delhi riots.
His statement on the Delhi riot is said to be confirming the allegations, which was then heard, of the involvement of assailants from outside Delhi during the riot.
In one of several video clips of Gurjar's speech at the event, he is heard saying "Hum log kisi ko chedte nahi, lekin humari behen-beti ko chede toh usse hum chodte bhi nahin… Delhi ke andar CAA pe danga hua. Tab ye jihadi Hinduon ko maarna shuru kiye. Toh aap log the… apne ghar mei ghusa diya. Humare upar aarop laga diya ki hum 2.5 lakh log Delhi mein leke ghuse. Hum to samjhane ke liye gaye the, lekin hum par police ne mukadma darj kar diya ki humne jihadiyo ko maarne ka kaam kiya. Hum jihadiyo ko maarenge. Hamesha maarenge."
"We do not harass anyone but if someone harasses our sisters and daughters we won't leave them. There was a riot over CAA in Delhi. Then these Jihadis began to kill Hindus. It was you people who had let us in. We 2.5 lakh people were accused of entering Delhi. We were there to make them understand but a case was filed against us over entering Delhi for killing Jihadis. We will kill Jihadis and always kill."
The VHP organised the event in protest against the murder of a man in East Delhi's Sunder Nagri last week. The man identified as Manish was reported to have suffered 20 stabbings. Six people, identified as Sajid, Aalam, Bilal, Faizan, Mohsin and Shakir, have been arrested in the case. Police had said the incident was the fallout of an old rivalry.
Referring to this incident Gurjar is also heard saying in another video that "If incidents of this kind happen in Delhi, we will come with 50,000 men from Loni, which is not a big deal as we did before as well. whenever Delhi needs it. Because we don't think of Delhi as a different (entity)."
In his speech, Gurjar called Sunder Nagri "'suar nagri" and said Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal should be booked under NSA (National Security Act).
"Dadri mein ek suar maara jaata hai gai kaatne waala Akhlaq, toh wahan saare ke saare, Rahul Gandhi se lekar Akhilesh aur Arvind Kejriwal, aise rote hain jaise inka damaad mar gaya ho… Delhi mein hatya mein… inka muh nahi khulta"
"When a swine, the cow slaughterer Akhlaq, was murdered in Dadri, then everyone from Rahul Gandhi to Akhilesh to Arvind Kejriwal was crying as if their son-in-law died. When there is killing in Delhi, no one opens their mouth."
When the video of Gurjar created uproar, he came out denying his involvement in the Delhi riot. "What have I to do with riots in Delhi? I did not go there. I said at the event that I was ready with 25,000 people at Loni so no riots took place here even as riots happened in Delhi," Mr Gurjar told PTI over the phone.
In another video, BJP MP from West Delhi Parvesh Verma could be heard calling for a "total boycott" of a community.
An FIR has been filed against the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the other organisers of the event, police said on Monday.
"An FIR has been registered against the organisers under IPC Sec 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) for not taking permission from the police," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahadra) R Sathiyasundaram.
The VHP dismissed the claim that permission for the event was not taken from the city police as "laughable" and said police personnel were deployed at the venue of the event in Dilshad Garden.
VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal said: "Let alone permission, we fixed the venue at the Ramlila Ground in Dilshad Garden after suggestions and recommendations from senior police officers."
"We had earlier planned to organise the gathering near Manish's (the man killed in northeast Delhi) house but on the request of the police, changed the venue to the Ramlila Maidan," he claimed.