Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda asked party members not to make “irresponsible” comments in the wake of an Uttar Pradesh MLA’s call to boycott Muslim vegetable sellers.
Suresh Tiwari, the BJP MLA from Barhaj constituency in Deoria district, was seen on a video clip telling people not to buy vegetables from Muslims.
The BJP issued a show-cause notice to Tiwari and sought his reply within seven days. A similar boycott have been reported in parts of UP against Muslim street venders.
Tiwari admitted that he made the remark and reasoned it by saying he did so as a precautionary measure in order to protect people from Corona spread.
Many Indian right-wing media and influencers are using ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ incident a justification for Muslim boycott. The islamophobic approach was called out by civil rights groups and international societies, earning India sharp criticism for communalising the pandemic.