Amit Shah calls for revenge in Muzaffarnagar: Report

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Amit Shah triggered a fresh row when he reportedly delivered a speech calling for ‘revenge’ in a village near riot-hit Muzaffarnagar on Thursday.
Shah, a close aide of BJP’s prime minister nominee Narendra Modi, met leaders of the Jat community in Raajhar village, 40 km from Muzaffarnagar, according to The Indian Express newspaper.

“This election is about voting out the government that protects and gives compensation to those who killed Jats,” the newspaper quoted Shah as saying. “It is about badla (revenge) and protecting izzat (honour).”

Shah, the BJP’s state-in-charge, was accompanied by party legislator Suresh Rana, who is accused of instigating the riots in Muzaffarnagar last year, the report said.

As many as 61 people were killed in the August-September communal violence that broke out in the western Uttar Pradesh district last year. More than 50,000 were displaced.

The Muzaffarnagar riots have emerged as a key poll issue, especially against the backdrop of the Muslim vote hogging the limelight. The ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) is on the back foot in the area over the alleged improper rehabilitation of riot-affected people.

On Friday, Shah again talked about revenge — this time in Muzaffarnagar, The Indian Express reported.

“A man can live without food or sleep. He can live when he’s thirsty and hungry. But when he’s insulted, he can’t live. Apmaan ka badla toh lena padega,” it quoted the BJP leader as saying at a meeting with Gurjar, Rajput and Dalit community leaders.

The controversy came close on the heels of Shah saying if voted to power, Modi would put Pakistan ‘in its place’.

“Pakistan would not dare to chop off head of any soldier like Hemraj on Indian borders if Modi comes to power,” he said after inaugurating Modi’s election office in Sigra locality in Varanasi on Tuesday.