Trying to wriggle out of a situation following his alleged statements on Muslims, Bharatiya Janata Party’s South Delhi candidate Ramesh Bidhuri on Thursday alluded to another litmus test for voters to prove their patriotism.
“The BJP will not discriminate between Hindus and Muslims provided they chant ‘ Bharat Mata Ki Jai ’,” he said. The covert threat also attracted laughter from party workers.
ClarificationADVERTISEMENT
Addressing a press conference earlier, Mr. Bidhuri denied making any controversial remarks at an election meeting in Govindpuri. He clarified saying he had said that [BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra] Modi ji will not stand any terrorism in the country”.
He also added that “majority of Muslims are patriotic” and denied putting a percentage figure on those he thought were unpatriotic.
Mr. Bidhuri had reportedly told voters at an election meeting earlier in the week that “30 per cent of the country’s Muslims still harbour terrorists” and Narendra Modi must be made Prime Minister so that he can “teach both Pakistan and the U.S. a lesson”.
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“I did not make any such statement. All I said was that Modi ji will not stand any form of terrorism when he becomes Prime Minister. My personal view is that the Ford Foundation, which is funded by the CIA, is supporting [Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind] Kejriwal so that he creates chaos in the country,” he said.
Responding to allegations made by the AAP’s South Delhi candidate that several cases of criminal intimidation were pending against him, Mr. Bidhuri said he shared the records of pending cases in his nomination papers. He also accused AAP’s candidate Colonel (retired) Devinder Sehrawat for not providing any evidence to substantiate his claims.
In a statement, the BJP candidate said Col. Sehrawat is “staring at a resounding defeat” and has hit back with “malicious allegations” since party supporters had donated Rs.5 lakh for Mr. Bidhuri’s Mahipalpur campaign.