Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday, accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of “jumping with joy” whenever a crime happens in the country, and labelled him a “merchant of hate.”
Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) lawmaker took to Twitter and said, “ Stop jumping with joy every time a crime happens, Mr Rahul Gandhi. The state has already assured strict & prompt action. You divide the society in every manner possible for electoral gains & then shed crocodile tears. Enough is Enough. You are a MERCHANT OF HATE”
Goyal was attacking Gandhi over the latter’s tweet on Alwar lynching case.
Stop jumping with joy every time a crime happens, Mr Rahul Gandhi.
The state has already assured strict & prompt action.
You divide the society in every manner possible for electoral gains & then shed crocodile tears.
Enough is Enough. You are a MERCHANT OF HATE. https://t.co/4thsyNL3nx
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) July 23, 2018
However, if what Gandhi did was ‘jumping with joy’ as per FM Goyal, then how do we refer to instances where his party leaders support rape accused, garland lynching convicts, or when BJP ministers are involved in cases of riots and rape?
Here are 9 times when BJP lawmakers “jumped with joy.”
Jayant Sinha
On top of the list, it is quite obvious to mention BJP MP from Hazaribagh, Jayant Sinha. The minister has been vocal about his support to the “innocents” of Ramgarh lynching convicts.
Sinha had welcomed eight convicts of Ramgarh lynching case at his residence in Jharkhand, with sweets and garlands. The Union Minister was called out by the opposition as well as army veterans for “publicly sympathising with perpetrators of communal killing.”
A total of 11 men, including a local Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader, were sentenced to life for beating a man to death on Jun 30 last year on suspicion of illegal cattle trading.
Mahesh Sharma
Union Minister Mahesh Sharma is another such BJP leader who has publicly offered support to the criminals.
On October 7, Sharma had met the family of 22-year-old Ravi Sisodia, one of the 18 people, arrested in 2016 on charges of murdering Akhlaq.
The next day, Sharma took to Twitter and said, “Met the family of deceased Ravi in Bisara village, Greater Noida. Bisara get settled now.”
Sharma also shared a picture of him saluting the pyre of the accused.
https://twitter.com/dr_maheshsharma/status/784381586825285634
The villagers had also draped Sisodia’s body with the national flag.
Sangeet Som
Who is Sangeet Som, you ask?
A BJP lawmaker accused of assault.
A BJP lawmaker accused of rioting.
A BJP lawmaker accused of rioting, armed with deadly weapon.
A BJP lawmaker accused of wrongful restraint.
Earlier in 2013, Som was also arrested for provoking communal tension with inflammatory speeches in different meetings. He was charged under National Security Act.
Choudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga
BJP leaders Choudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga participated in a rally supporting the accused in the Kathua rape and killing case.
Later, Singh defended his act and told the media, “I had gone there, (ministers) Bali (Bhagat) and (Abdul Gani) Kohli had gone to Nowshera and Sunderbani to listen to people. Should we not listen to them? For what are we people’s representatives? Should we allow people to burn the state and die.”
“Migration had taken place. Our party leadership, the party president, sent us there with responsibility. They did the right thing. We sat with over 5,000 people and made them understand. They heard us and went back to their homes,” he added.
The rally was organised by Hindu Ekta Manch, in favour of the accused.
An eight-year-old girl from the Bakerwal community was raped and killed in Kathua.
Kuldeep Singh Sengar
BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar is one of the main accused in Unnao rape case.
Kuldeep and his brothers allegedly gang-raped 18-year old girl in Unnao in 2017. The victim had attempted suicide outside Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s house.
His brother, Atul, was also arrested in connection with the custodial death of victim’s father.
News agency ANI also quoted Kuldeep saying, “’Arrey wo nimn star ke log hain, apradhiyon ki saazish hai.”
#WATCH: BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, against whom a woman has leveled rape allegations, says 'Arrey wo nimn star ke log hain, apradhiyon ki saazish hai.' pic.twitter.com/vTJT6KMfL7
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 9, 2018
Giriraj Singh
On July 8 this year, Union Minister Giriraj Singh expressed “grief” on the arrest of several right-wing “activists” who were charged with inciting communal violence resulting in riots.
Singh met the accused in the jail and inquired about their well-being.
He went on to accuse the Bihar government of suppressing Hindus and said, “It is very saddening to see that the government feels that communal harmony will be there only if they suppress Hindus. I request the state government and the society to let go of this kind of attitude.”
“It is unfortunate the way Jitu Ji and Kailash Ji have been framed. When tension arose during Ram Navami in 2017, they resumed peace in the area. They did the same when an idol of goddess Durga was vandalised in Akbarpur.” he added.
Swami Chinmayanand
BJP lawmaker Swami Chinmayanand, who was accused in a rape case seven years ago, walked out free without any consequences, as the Uttar Pradesh government decided to withdraw the case against him.
The Union Minister was accused of raping a girl in his ashram.
According to Times of India report, a letter submitted by the UP government in April this year, read, “The administration has decided to withdraw the case as per the section 321 of the CrPC and the public prosecutor is requested to submit this application before the court.”
The reason of withdrawing the case was not mentioned in the letter.
The victim had claimed that she was kidnapped and raped inside the ashram and Chinmayanand had threatened to kill her if she complained against him.
Sakshi Maharaj
BJP MP Sakshi Mharaj defended Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who was convicted of rape.
The BJP lawmaker made a statement to the press, “Crores of people are supporting Ram Rahim, and only one person is complaining against him. Is one person right or are crores of people right?”
He continued, “There is so much of ruckus over it, law and order has been disturbed, people are dying… Shouldn’t this be a consideration?”
“Ram Rahim is a simple man so he is being harassed,” said the BJP MP who is always draped in saffron clothes.
Yogi Adityanath
Yogi Adityanath’s government in Uttar Pradesh decided to withdraw cases related Muzaffarnagar riots against BJP ministers.
The UP government said that the charges of inciting mobs to attack people and property are ‘political’.
Yogi Adityanath’s government didn’t clarify what it meant by ‘political’ nature of the cases.
Senior criminal lawyer Pritam Srivastava had posed the question, “If leaders get pardon on grounds of ‘political’ cases in connection with Muzaffarnagar riots, what will happen to others who acted at the insistence of these leaders and took law into their hands? Will those people also get immunity.”
Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013 had resulted in deaths of 63 innocents and left over 50,000 people homeless.