‘Bring’ Muslim girls for jobs: BJP leader tells Hindu men

Uttar Pradesh: BJP leader and former MLA from Uttar Pradesh, Raghvendra Pratap Singh, who is known for his anti-Muslim hate speeches, called on Hindu young men to “bring” Muslim girls, and they will be rewarded with jobs, Maktoob Media reported.

In a video that went viral on social media, the Hindutva leader could be heard saying, “The Hindu boy who brings a Muslim girl, we will arrange a job for him,” Maktoob Media quoted.

According to eyewitnesses, the statement received huge cheers from the crowd.

Strong criticism arose against the video and the Hindutva leader’s call from many quarters. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh reacted sharply to the video and said that the Hindu leader’s remark was “a direct incitement to criminality”. Singh demanded immediate police action on Raghavendra.

Singh wrote on X, “If a leader publicly urges abduction and forced conversion, the law must follow. We cannot have a double standard where the UP police file cases against Muslims on flimsy grounds but look the other way when Hindu leaders incite violence. Arrest him now, or the claim that law is equal for all will ring hollow.”

“Which Hindu parent would want their son to be celebrated for abducting a girl? Is this the identity we want for Hinduism in the world — one tied to coercion and criminality?” Singh asked.

He called on the civil society and the administration to treat the hate speech as a public-order crime and a hate crime, according to Maktoob Media.

According to the news house, local human rights activists asked the district administration to register an FIR and to protect potential victims.

The particular hate speech incident involving a Hindutva extremist leader happened when there were allegations that state agencies in the BJP’s Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh were selectively enforcing laws. The allegations are that authorities in the state target Muslim communities while allowing Hindutva groups' hate crimes.