At a VHP event, BJP MP Parvesh Verma calls for the ‘total boycott’ of a community

VHP and other right-wing organisations had organised a meeting to protest against the murder of a man, Manish Kumar, in the national capital’s Sundar Nagri locality earlier this month

BJP MP Parvesh Verma. File | Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

BJP MP from west Delhi, Parvesh Verma, called for the “total boycott” of people from a particular community during the ‘Hindu Mahasabha’ event organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other right-wing organisations in Delhi on Sunday.   

Speaking at the event after the VHP’s international joint general secretary Surendra Jain, who alleged that people from a particular community are trying to turn Delhi into a “mini Pakistan”, Mr. Verma said, “They are selling things in makeshift stalls. You don’t have to buy vegetables from their stalls. They sell non-veg[etarian food]. We should ask MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) and get all the shops, whose owners don’t have licence, shut. Boycott their restaurants.”

In purported videos from Sunday’s event that went viral on social media, Mr. Verma can also be heard saying, “Mai kehta hu agar inka dimag theek karna hai, inki tabiyat theek karni hai, to ek hi ilaaj hai. Aur wo hai sampurna bahishkar (I say that if you want to teach them a lesson, total boycott is the only way out).” He is then seen asking the audience to raise their hands if they agreed with what he was saying.

“Repeat with me that we will totally boycott them. We will not buy anything from them. We will not pay them any wages,” Mr. Verma said, asking all present at the protest to take the pledge.

The VHP and other right-wing organisations had organised a meeting at Delhi’s GTB Nagar to protest against the murder of a man, Manish Kumar, who was killed by three men in Sundar Nagri locality earlier this month. Senior VHP office-bearers, BJP leaders and others called for Hindus to remain “united” and “boycott Muslims” during the protest that took place in the presence of police.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Shahdara, R. Sathiyasundaram, said that permission had not been taken for holding the event.

The BJP MLA from Loni, Nand Kishore Gujjar, also participated in the protest and agreed to the VHP’s call for “Hindus to unite”.

Mr. Verma couldn’t be contacted for his response despite repeated attempts. The BJP spokesperson also refused to comment on the issue.

According to the police, 21-year-old Manish Kumar was stabbed to death in a case of personal enmity in northeast Delhi’s Sunder Nagri locality. The police have arrested three persons, identified as Aalam, Bilal and Faizan, for the murder.