Minister backs housing society

Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma has come out in support of the Noida family who has been accused of assaulting a domestic help.

Mr. Sharma, who is the MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddha Nagar constituency under which Noida falls, had on Sunday met the residents of the Mahagun Moderne society.

In the audio of the interaction, shared by a few locals, Mr. Sharma is heard telling the residents that the law and order issue was being given a “communal colour by NGOs running their shops in the name of human rights”.

He told the residents that he has directed BJP workers to give a “befitting reply” to such NGOs.

Following the violence on July 12, two counter-FIRs were filed: one against the family accused of beating the help and another against unidentified people in the mob.

Mr. Sharma said that he would ensure that the accused in the case “never get bail”, while asserting that it was a clear-cut case of “mob violence” against the family.

“There is no doubt that the family is not at fault. A few people, through NGOs and media, in the name of human rights, are trying to give a communal colour to the incident,” Mr. Sharma said, as the residents cheered him on.

When PTI contacted Mr. Sharma, he did not contest the veracity of the audio.